Republic City's Finest - Book 1: Redemption
by Cloudy Luminosity
Summary: At seventeen years old, Lei strives to uphold her father's legacy as one of Republic City's finest officers. After years under the tutelage of the Metalbending Elite, her dreams are jeopardized. All the while, tension has been building between benders and nonbenders, threatening to give rise to a civil war both in the city, and in her own home. [Book 1 of Republic City's Finest]
1. Prologue

-:-

* * *

 **Book 1: Redemption  
** **Prologue**

* * *

Lei was only four years old when she first discovered her bending abilities, but the memory of that day will forever remain crisp in her mind.

-:-

It was late in the afternoon as a small girl sprinted across the yard of the Chen household, her long brown hair whipping around behind her. Lei glanced back to her older sister, who was hurrying behind as the two made their way to the table where their parents were sitting, her short black hair tied at the back of her head. Turning her green eyes back to their destination, she saw her mother furrow her brows as she watched.

Looking up to the direction where her daughters had come from, the woman called her husband's attention, fear piercing her tone. "Shang!"

Beside her, the man briefly tensed, but upon glancing to Lei's clasped hands, all worry drained from his expression.

He smiled as he gently touched his wife's arm. "Ping, it's okay. She just wants to show us something."

Ping glanced between her husband and daughters as her posture slowly relaxed.

The children stopped before them as the eldest cried out, "Mom! Mom! Lei did something weird!"

Her mother smiled. "Calm down, Jin. What happened?"

Lei grinned widely as she opened her tan hands to reveal a small rock. After tossing it high above her head, the girl made a punching motion, sending the stone flying forward and through a window on the second story of her house. Her parents winced as the glass shattered.

"Oops…"

Shang smiled as he assured the young earthbender, "You'll learn to control this in time."

Her eyes widened. "Really?"

"Of course."

The young parents exchanged glances in silent communication before nodding.

Ping smiled softly. "Girls, it's time that we told you about bending."

She patted the chairs next to her, motioning for her daughters to come. After taking their seats between their parents, their first lesson began.

Shang put a hand on his youngest's shoulder. "In this great big world of ours, some people have special powers called bending. There are four main types." He held up fingers as he listed them off. "There is firebending, which originates from the islands of the Fire Nation; airbending, which originated with monks of the Air Temples hundreds of years ago; waterbending, which originates from the Water Tribes at the north and south poles; and earthbending, which originates from the great Earth Kingdom. Firebenders can bend fire, waterbenders can bend water, and so on."

Ping took over, her voice gentle as she explained, "When the Hundred Year War ended, the United Republic was created, and all sorts of benders and non-benders moved here."

Lei grinned as she bounced in her seat. "So people from here can do all the bending?"

Her father laughed. "Not quite. Because people of so many backgrounds live in the United Republic, you can find all types of benders here." He pointed to the house next door. "Lee is an earthbender. Jin's friend Miksa is a waterbender. The chef at my favorite restaurant is a firebender. Councilman Tenzin is an airbender—"

Lei raised an eyebrow. "What's a councilman?"

"The United Republic—including the capital, Republic City—is run by a group of representatives from each nation. There is one representative from the Fire Nation, one from the Earth Kingdom, one from the Northern Water Tribe, one from the Southern Water Tribe, and Tenzin, who is the only member of the Air Nation in the world right now."

"Oh."

Jin frowned as she chimed in. "Wait, so each bender can only bend one element?"

"Well," Ping began, "yes. Benders can only bend the element they are born with. Daddy and Lei are earthbenders, so they can only bend earth."

"There are sub-types of bending, though," Shang added. "Really talented earthbenders can learn how to bend metal, like I do, or lava. Talented firebenders can also bend lightning. Waterbenders can control any state of water—liquid, ice, vapor—and talented ones can become healers." He frowned. "They can also control people under a full moon with bloodbending, but that's illegal."

"What about airbenders?" the eldest Chen daughter asked.

Her mother shrugged. "No one knows. Not even Councilman Tenzin."

"Woah..." Lei grinned as she turned to her mother. "What about you and Jin, Mommy? What can you bend?"

Jin folder her arms as she looked down.

Ping put a comforting hand on her eldest's shoulder before explaining, "No, sweetheart. Jin and I aren't benders."

Shang gently called Lei's attention. "And there's nothing wrong with that. Your mother is one of the strongest people I know—above most benders too. She has been helping Jin learn how to protect herself, just like I will be teaching you how to earthbend. Always remember that everyone should be treated as equals."

She jumped up as she cried out, "Yeah! No one's gonna pick on anyone in my watch!"

Jin pouted, "Hey, no fair! You're _my_ little sister, so I have to protect _you,_ not the other way around!"

Ping intervened. "Easy, girls. You should both protect and help each other. Can you promise me that?"

Lei grinned. "Yeah!"

Several moments passed before Jin grumbled, "Okay…" She then turned to her father as she asked, "Didn't you say that there was a special person who can bend everything?"

He nodded. "Yes. One special person—the Avatar—has the ability to bend all four elements. It's the Avatar's job to keep balance in the world."

Lei's green eyes twinkled. "Just like you?"

Shang laughed. "My job is to keep peace in Republic City, along with the rest of the police force. The Avatar's job is to keep it in the whole world."

Jin frowned. "That doesn't sound fun."

"Daddy, who gets to be the Avatar?" Lei asked.

"Well, the Avatar's spirit is reincarnated into the next nation in the cycle after he dies," he began. "Water, Earth, Fire, and Air. The last Avatar, Aang, was born in the Air Nation, but he died around the time Lei was born. Right now, the world is waiting for the next Avatar to be discovered in either the Northern Water Tribe or the Southern Water Tribe."

"How will they find them?" Jin asked. "The world is so big."

Ping told her, "As we speak, a group called the White Lotus is out searching for the Avatar."

Meanwhile, in the night of the Southern Water Tribe, a group of three bending masters were meeting with two young parents in the small hut that they called home.

The short man in front had a skeptical look on his exhausted face as he asked, "What makes you so sure your daughter is _the one?"_

The young mother turned to the side as she called out, "Korra, please come in here."

A piece of the earth wall was blasted across the room as a pudgy girl posed heroically and proclaimed, "I'm the Avatar, you gotta deal with it!"


	2. Insubordination

-:-

* * *

 **Book 1: Redemption  
** **Chapter 1: Insubordination**

* * *

Even though thirteen years had passed since that fateful day, Lei still remembered it crystal clear. It was strange to think just how much her life had changed since then. She had mastered earthbending by the age of twelve—much like the legendary inventor of metalbending, Toph Beifong. Determined to make her father proud, she enrolled in the training program for Republic City's elite metalbending officers—the same one he had entered as a young man so many years ago. But such success at a young age doesn't always guarantee personal satisfaction.

Deep within police headquarters, Lei was brooding in the hallway, her long braid hanging down as she folded her arms and leaned against the wall. A few minutes passed before she was approached by her best friend, with two cups in hand. Despite being two years her elder, Taifeng wasn't much taller than her. His mid-length black hair was neatly styled, framing his diamond-shaped face, and pairing nicely with his wrinkle-free uniform. He raised a thin eyebrow upon noticing Lei's scowl, though he brushed it away with a smirk.

Still, he couldn't mask the concern in his pale-blue eyes as he held out a cup of tea and teased, "Can't even go fifteen minutes without me, huh?"

She let out an amused snort as her lips twitched into a wry grin. "Oh, _of course._ What would I ever do if you took another thirty seconds?" After taking his offer, she added, "Thanks."

Light glimmered off Lei's gray armored uniform as her childhood friend leaned against the wall and took a sip of his own morning tea. "Hey, you know you can always talk to me, right? What's wrong?"

She let out an exasperated sigh before venting, "I just don't understand why this is taking so long. I became a cadet and broke the record for the longest training period after fourteen months. Now I've nearly quadrupled that. I should've been made an officer _years_ ago!"

He narrowed his eyes and scoffed, his tone harsh as he commented, "At least you _have_ an option, and aren't stuck as a beat cop."

"Not really, considering I've been doing the same stuff you have and some training," she argued. "Besides, you only started two years ago, and—beat cop or not—you're still an official officer. You'll probably make it to detective by the end of the year."

He pursed his lips for a few moments before flashing her an encouraging smile. "And you'll probably make officer then too. I guess we both just need to be a little more patient…"

Before the metalbender could respond, Taifeng's father came rushing down the hall. Lei could see the resemblance in their faces, though Lee's deep green eyes, trimmed facial hair, slight wrinkles, and pale skin helped to tell them apart. Not to mention that Lee was significantly taller and had a broader build.

The middle-aged man stopped before the teens as he turned to Lei and explained, "There's a brawl between triads on Thirty-Ninth Street. Chief Beifong is sending out the team."

The corners of her lips curved into a grin. This was her chance!

Taifeng whipped around in a huff as he called back, "See you later, Lei."

The younger teen frowned as she watched him go, but followed her mentor up to the roof of the massive headquarters where the other Metalbending Officers were waiting. As she stood and watched for the zeppelin to take off, Captain Lee faced her.

"Cadet, this is a dangerous mission," he began. "Our goal is to stop the fighting, and _that's it_. The others and I will arrest any stragglers, but I want you to stay by my side no matter what. You haven't been on any triad raids, so this is just an observational experience for you, understood?"

Lei could barely contain herself as she eagerly glanced around for the airship, barely paying attention as she repeated, "Yeah, stay by you."

Right on time, one of the massive Police Airships arrived and extended its ramp from the bottom of the ship and onto the roof. Lei and the other officers quickly boarded, and took off.

Captain Lee put his hands behind his back as he addressed the group. "This is a level two emergency, so there's no time for slow maneuvers. Everyone needs to hit the ground running to disperse the violence as soon as possible. Am I clear?"

In unison, the cadet and officers saluted. "Yes, sir!"

Lei's mentor then turned to her. "Cadet, what is the most important rule of being one of the Metalbending Elite?"

"Safety comes first. If a situation looks bad, hold back and wait for backup. There's always another day to track down the culprit as long as you're alive to do it."

He nodded. "Good. Remember it well."

As they waited for their rapidly approaching destination, Lei took a mental inventory of what tools she had. First, and most important, were the two spools of cables on her back that she could run through each sleeve. Each one could extend up to fifty yards, and she could easily manipulate their shapes into other useful items, like knives. Her armor was a given. It was built to help officers withstand physical attacks, but still give high mobility. Finally, she had two sets of metal handcuffs at the back of her belt, which she could easily bend to catch criminals ahead of her, if need be.

Sirens blared from within the airship as they arrived, drawing her full attention as the hatch opened below. Winds whipped around the cabin as Lei looked down at the streets. Two groups of rival triads were fighting in the Small Business district, but they had just stopped. The men all glanced up before dispersing down the nearby streets and alleyways.

Two senior officers jumped out first, using their cables to direct their falls to the lines of cables above the streets before propelling themselves ahead in pursuit of three gang members. Another two officers came down and went in the opposite direction.

Following Captain Lee and another pair, Lei jumped from the airship and extended a cable from her sleeve to grab onto a wire and swing to the street below. She shortened the length of her cable and released it from the wire as she hit the ground, sprinting behind Captain Lee into an alleyway with fierce determination.

She was only a few steps behind her mentor as they gave chase to the triad members. From the colors of their outfits, the cadet could tell that there was one of each of the three common bending disciplines. The waterbender glanced back before splitting off to a smaller alley on the right while the earthbender raised a wall, blocking the metalbenders' way. Lei pursed her lips as Lee launched himself over the wall. He could probably handle those two easily.

Turning down the other alley, she called back, "I've got this one!"

The teen ignored Lee's call for her to stop as she pursued her target down the dark and crowded alley. It was thinner than the last one, and lined with all sorts of small dumpsters, mops, buckets, and boxes. The waterbender whipped around as he bent a bucket of dirty water into her path, freezing it just under her foot. Lei stumbled and propelled herself forward, sliding until she hit the ground again and continued her chase. He glanced back and scowled before frantically throwing whatever he could get his hands on into her path. The cadet jumped onto the dumpsters, avoiding the clutter as she crossed the alley, full focus on the triad member as she closed the gap even further.

A waking homeless man froze as he saw them go by. Just ahead, the waterbender stopped as he came across a tall chain-link fence blocking his path. He tensed before reaching to a pouch of water on his belt and taking a horse stance, ready to fight.

Latching onto one of her handcuffs with her bending, Lei sent them flying toward the man. At the same time, he launched water in her direction. In one fluid motion, he clenched his fists, freezing the handcuffs midair, followed by using the rest of his water to encase her dominant hand in ice, leaving her unable to bend with it.

She scowled as she pulled her frozen hand to her side, but she didn't have the time to free it. The gang member was already halfway up the fence, clearly out of water to attack with.

The metalbender smirked as she confidently declared, "Not today!"

Using her non-dominant hand, she bent the fence around him, trapping the man. The waterbender writhed around as he tried to escape, but was unable to get far. Lei confidently strolled over and handcuffed him before bending the fence back to its original place, dropping the criminal. He groaned as he landed and the brunette put her foot on his back, holding him there.

As she kept him in his place, she raised her frozen hand and used the other one to bend the cable through her sleeve and morph it into spikes, breaking through the ice. The cadet repeatedly clenched and stretched her dominant hand to relieve the stinging numbness. Once she was certain that she was otherwise unharmed, she bent the cable through her sleeve and pierced the ice that encased her other pair of handcuffs. After returning it to her belt, Lei smirked at the triad member, grabbed him by the handcuffs, and forced him back down the alley. At the intersection, she saw Captain Lee standing there, a deep frown plastered on his face as he watched on.

Lee was silent the whole trip back to headquarters, even after the arrested gang members were brought in for processing. With nothing else to do for the moment, Lei went off to take her lunch. Meanwhile, Captain Lee was called into the chief's office.

He frowned as he stepped inside, but stood at attention.

Chief Beifong was sitting behind her desk, a serious expression on her face as she asked, "Do you know why I sent your team instead of Saikhan's?"

"No, ma'am."

Lin weaved her fingers together as she explained, "Keeping Chen away from tough jobs won't help her. You have to trust her abilities, Lee. You can't hold her back because of what happened to Shang." She lowered her hands as she added, "She'll make a good officer."

Captain Lee pursed his lips for a few moments. "With all due respect, Chief, if she can't listen to orders, I'm not so sure about that."

Lin furrowed her eyebrows as a frown tugged at her lips.

-:-

Right outside the chief's office was a room filled with the desks of all the officers. Lei was standing beside the one she used when she didn't have any Metalbending Elite assignments. Taifeng was looking up at his childhood friend from his own desk as she finished her story.

She had a wide grin plastered on her lips. "…it was awesome! I wish you were there to see it."

He laughed. "Sounds like one heck of a sight." A few moments passed before he added, "You know... you just pulled off your first tough arrest on the job. I'll have to treat you to dinner to celebrate."

Lei smiled back at him, but before she could respond, Chief Beifong stepped out, her tone clearly displeased. "Lei. In my office. _Now."_

Glancing to Taifeng, he gave her a shrug. Cadet Chen immediately followed the chief into her office and stood at attention. As she sat down, Lei found Captain Lee standing beside the chief's desk. She furrowed her brows slightly as she waited for them to speak.

Lin weaved her fingers together as she told her, "Due to your consistent failures to listen to your superior officer, I'm putting you on paid leave until further notice."

Lei's eyebrows twitched downward as she argued, "At least I caught the guy!"

Lee's voice was stern. "Disobeying direct orders like that is _not_ justified. We would have gone after him after arresting the other two _together."_

She frowned. "I just wanted to help. I _really_ want to be an officer."

"If that's what you really want, then you should listen to my orders. If you can't do something so simple, then maybe you aren't cut out for this job."

Lei frowned as she held her tongue.

After a short silence, Chief Beifong addressed her again. "Captain Lee will contact you when you're allowed back on the force. In the meantime, I suggest you read over the handbook again. You're dismissed."

Lei nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

-:-

The sun was setting when Lei was finally entering her small house, a permanent scowl on her face. As she closed the door behind her and took her first steps inside, she saw her sister gathering her purse—she must have been on her way out. Jin tensed as she saw Lei before flipping her dyed red hair in a haughty motion.

"Why are you home so early?" she asked.

"I got in trouble and was put on leave," the brunette grumbled. "If it happens again, then that's it—I'll be fired."

Jin rolled her eyes. "So what? Big deal."

Lei's eyebrow twitched as she hissed, "Well, _someone_ has to uphold Dad's legacy."

Jin narrowed her eyes as she snapped, "Just because you're the only bender, that doesn't make you the only one who can do it!"

"Well, I'm the only one _trying,"_ the metalbender argued. "You're too busy mooching off your thug of a boyfriend to care! Dad's probably rolling in his grave right now for you even _associating_ with that loser."

The twenty-year old scoffed. "Tahno's not a thug! And being a defending Pro-Bending Champion hardly makes him a loser. At least _I_ can make meaningful relationships, unlike _you!"_

She stormed out the door, roughly pushing her younger sister out of her way. Lei huffed as she stomped into her room and closed the door behind her. She took a seat before releasing a groan and rubbing her temples. Why was everyone so uptight today? She was just trying to do her job.

After composing herself, Lei dug out the handbook and started reading.

* * *

 _Rule 1: Officers should work as a team for the good of everyone. Solo hero acts often lead to officers being killed or injured. Trust your colleagues and show them that they can trust you._

* * *

A clear image of her father's body in his coffin flashed across her mind's eye. Lei tensed before shaking the memory away and focusing on the book.

Later that evening, Lei heard the front door open. There was a Pro-bending game tonight, so she was certain that it wasn't Jin. With that in mind, the cadet put down her handbook and peeked into the foyer to find her mother closing the front door.

"Girls, I'm home!" She turned and frowned upon catching her youngest daughter's pout. "Honey, what's wrong?"

Lei sighed as she approached her mother and explained everything that had happened that day. When she was finished with her tale, her mother put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sure Lee means well. He just wants to make sure you're ready," Ping told her with a soft smile. "Don't worry, he'll let you back soon enough."

She sighed. "I hope you're right."

Ping flashed her a grin. "I'm always right, Lei. So, please, don't worry yourself over it."

The metalbender relaxed as she smiled back. "Thanks, Mom."

The middle-aged woman pulled her into an embrace. "I love you very much, sweetheart."

Lei returned the hug. "I love you too."

Ping pulled away and placed down her bag as she explained, "Nanuq is still with a patient, so we're inviting Haku over for dinner."

Lei's thoughts turned to her neighbor as she laughed. "He'd probably forget to eat again if we didn't."

"I can't argue with you there," she commented. "Could you go get him?"

The brunette nodded. "Sure, no problem."

Lei stepped outside and onto the small sidewalk that lined the street. Dull houses were clustered all around with only short fences to separate their small yards. Across the street, an old couple was listening to the radio on their balcony. From the cheers, she could tell that it was probably one of the first Pro-bending matches of the night.

Turning to the side, the teen made her way over to the house directly beside hers. Having finally gotten used to the placement of all the cracks, she was able to navigate in the dim lighting without tripping. Once at the front door, she knocked loudly. A few moments passed with no answer, as usual, so she let herself in.

The interior of Haku's house was much like the Chen's, though the furnishings were vastly different. As Lei walked to the back of the house, she passed Nanuq's healing dummy where she practiced on her days off and held the occasional lesson or two. Making her way up the narrow stairs to the second floor, she found the light on in Haku's room at the end of the hall—marked his by the overflow of books right outside the doorway.

She smiled as she peered inside and saw him engrossed in the mounds of open texts before him. Being of Water Tribe descent, he had flawless dark skin, and long brown hair that he kept tied at the back of his head. His mother had a tendency to cut it unevenly, though, leaving him with layers of thick hair flowing around his ears. Truth be told, if he ever bothered to go out and talk to people, girls would probably flock to him—or should she say, women? After all, he was a year older than her.

Lei grinned as she called out, "Heya, Haku. What're you doing?"

He jolted up from his slouched reading position as he turned to face the door. Upon seeing the younger woman, he smiled warmly. "Ah, Lei. It's good to see you again. I'm just reading a bit. What brings you here?"

She laughed as she folded her arms and leaned against the doorframe. "You know, if anyone else said that, I'd say it's a lot more than just a bit of reading. Anyway, your mom's working late tonight, so I came to invite you to have dinner with us."

He raised his eyebrows before glancing to the clock on the wall. "Oh! It's much later than I thought." He smiled graciously. "Thank you for the offer. I'll only be a moment."

"Take your time."

Lei watched on curiously as Haku marked all his pages and stood before meeting her in the doorway. He towered a full head taller than the brunette, smiling down with deep blue eyes as he thanked her again for her generosity. With neighbor in tow, she made her way back home.

-:-

Long after dinner, Lei found herself alone in her small backyard, practicing her earthbending as she listened to the radio. Shiro Shinobi's voice rang out loud and clear as he commentated on the Pro-bending match.

 _"There you have it folks, after being in Republic City for only a few weeks now, the Avatar has joined the rookies, saving the Fire Ferrets from forfeiting the match! She may have mastered the elements, but can she master Pro-bending in time to snatch a win?"_

Lei tuned out the announcer as her mind wandered elsewhere. She just _had_ to get back into the force no matter what. Not for herself. Not just to support her family. Above all, she had to do it for her father. She was going to make him proud from wherever he was watching on in the Spirit World.

She grinned as she shattered a boulder. It was time to get to work.

* * *

 ** _Author's Note:_ By the way, I imagine Jin as the Wolfbats fangirl with red hair and green eyes. I figured that since her only spoken lines are giggling and howling in cheer of the Wolfbats' entrance, using her as a character would be fair.**

 **Please let me know what you think so far. I hope that you're enjoying the story!**


	3. Family Ties

-:-

* * *

 **Book 1: Redemption  
** **Chapter 2: Family Ties**

* * *

Lei was in Chief Beifong's office, wearing her green civilian clothes as she implored, "Please, Chief! It's been _weeks,_ and I've read the handbook _six times."_

The fifty-year old bending master frowned, her patience clearly wearing thin as she looked up at the cadet from her desk and explained, "It's Captain Lee's decision whether to take you back or not. I'm busy enough as it is."

Lei pinched her eyebrows together. "Chief, I'm _begging_ you. You've known me all my life. Can't you just take me back yet?"

Lin rose from her seat, her voice booming through the office. "Enough! No one gets special treatment here, and you're no exception. When Lee thinks you're ready, he _might_ let you be reinstated. Now get out, and let me do my job."

The teen sighed. "Yes, ma'am..."

Turning around, she sulked her way out the door, through the hall, and out the entrance. Looking up at the tall statue of the department's founder, Toph Beifong, she frowned. Gray clouds dotted the sky, blocking the sun as a crisp autumn breeze combed its way through her loose hair. Lei shivered, holding her arms together as she made her way down the steps and out to the courtyard. As she was making her way to her first leg of the walk home, a boxy police car stopped in front of her.

Taifeng peered outside the door-less vehicle as he commented, "I'm surprised to see you here."

Lei frowned as she explained, "I was trying to see if the Chief would let me back…"

The raven-haired officer pursed his lips for a moment before grinning as he patted the seat beside him and teased, "Come on—you look pathetic. Just let me drive you home."

She tilted her head. "You're on the clock. Can't you get in trouble for this?"

He waved a hand dismissively. "Come on, Lei. Taking a break from handing out parking tickets won't get me in _that_ much trouble. Besides, if there's a real emergency, you'll just walk the rest of the way."

The brunette laughed. "Fair enough."

She climbed into the patrol car and held on as Taifeng drove off in the direction of her house. Several long and tense minutes went by as they went down the smooth streets.

With a pout on her face, Lei broke the silence. "Is your dad still mad at me?"

Taifeng frowned, his brows furrowed as he kept his light eyes on the road and struggled with his words. "He's not… I wouldn't say he's _mad_ , but…" He winced as he spoke more quickly. "Okay, he's still kinda upset, but that's not necessarily a _bad_ thing."

She raised an eyebrow.

"Look, he just…" Her best friend sighed. "He wants you to succeed. He just doesn't wanna see you get hurt."

She frowned. "Yeah, but I _didn't_ get hurt."

"No, but next time you might not get so lucky," he calmly argued. "Dad just doesn't want you to make the same mistakes he did."

The younger teen let out a silent sigh as her thoughts turned to the very error he meant. "I remember you guys visiting a lot after Dad died."

Several moments passed before he quietly told her, "No one wants to lose you like we did your father, so everyone's just being extra careful."

Lei sighed. "I know." Changing the subject, she asked, "So, how's everything going in the city?"

"There was another Equalist attack last week."

The cadet raised an eyebrow. "An aggressive one or the same defensive 'don't-follow-us' attacks that they've been doing?"

"Defensive." Taifeng frowned as he added, "There was another kidnapping a few days ago. Just like all the others, they found him right outside his house the next day."

Lei pursed her lips. "Wasn't the last one only four months ago?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Whoever's responsible for these disappearances is picking up the pace."

She sighed. "Well, the one good thing about this is that we're more likely to find someone who remembers what happened. Did this guy have anything useful?"

Lei watched as Taifeng's expression contorted, his eyebrows pinching together, forming deep wrinkles on his forehead as he tightened his grip on the steering wheel and released a frustrated sigh. "No. It's just like all the others. All he remembered was a dark room and a candle circling some guy in a mask while he was strapped to a chair. He doesn't remember what the guy looked like, or what he said. We still don't have any leads."

The corners of her lips tugged into a soft frown. "And you're sure this is the same culprit, not someone who heard about it on the radio and tried to use it to cover his own tracks?"

"It's definitely the same person," he assured her. "There wasn't any evidence of physical or sexual assault. We still don't know how these people are getting knocked out to be kidnapped in the first place." He hesitated before confessing, "Some people are starting to think we have another Yakone on our hands."

The metalbender shivered as stories of the infamous triad boss surfaced in her mind. A man who was able to bloodbend not only outside a full moon, but with none of the movements that waterbending required—a psychic bloodbender—Yakone committed countless crimes from extortions to murders. Avatar Aang took his bending away and had him imprisoned. He was later broken out by his gang, but that was over forty years ago. He should have been dead by now.

She felt a pit in her stomach as she wondered, "Could Yakone's legacy have returned somehow?"

His knuckles grew white as he tightened his grip even more. "I hope not…"

Folding her arms, Lei continued. "And what's the motive behind all this? It just doesn't make any sense. If I hadn't seen it myself, I would've thought it was just a scary story."

"I don't know," he admitted. "I just hope we catch this guy before he does more harm."

The pair grew silent again, allowing Lei's thoughts to linger over the idea of the faceless monster who stole away people in the night. Unlike the Equalists, whoever—or whatever—was responsible for these attacks did not discriminate against benders or non-benders. Just when everyone thinks he's gone, he swoops in and steals another random soul, returning them with no memories—only questions and a rising fear in the public's mind, or at least those who pay close attention. Luckily, the journalists choose to focus on the excitement of the pro-bending championships over the boogeyman that goes bump in the night. Still, if the frequency continued to increase, they would be bound to latch onto it—if the Equalists didn't take the spotlight first.

As the car hit a pothole, the brunette directed her attention to her surroundings. They were on a familiar cracked road just outside Dragon Flats borough, not too far from her home.

Taifeng's tone was both serious and sad as he asked, "Did you ever get used to your new house?"

She frowned. "Only just recently, but I still wake up confused sometimes." As the car stopped in front of Lei's house, she added, "I can't believe it's been six years already."

"Yeah." Taifeng turned to the younger teen with a grin as he gave her a playful nudge. "Chin up, alright? You'll be back on the force before you know it."

She flashed him a grin as she jabbed him back. "You bet!" She stepped out as she added, "I'll see you around."

"You too, Lei."

With that, she watched her childhood friend drive off. She remained there at her front door as she briefly glanced to the moped near the window and frowned. _I'll never be able to focus with Jin around._ Pursing her lips, she realized, _I don't necessarily need to train here…_

-:-

Lei was in a small yard, dressed in loose clothing with her feet bare.

Smiling, she turned to her neighbor. "Hey, thanks for letting me train here today."

Haku held his papers close as he bowed his head. "You're always welcome, Lei. I hid those extra pieces around for you. Please, let me know if you need anything else."

She nodded and watched as he took a seat on a chair that he had taken outside and opened his book. As the waterbender occupied himself, the earthbender stepped into the center of the yard, feeling the cool dirt beneath her as blades of grass weaved their way between her toes. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and spread her knees apart, taking on a horse stance. With her vision obscured, it allowed the teen to focus her bending senses on the vibrations in the earth below, painting a dynamic image of the yard around her.

Haku was watching on with the papers in his hands. A crumpled cloth was laying on the ground nearby. In the corner was an anthill hidden to the naked eye, running several feet underground. Lei felt each step as the insects carried their scavenged lunch into the ground. As surreal as this sensation was—as much as she could spend the whole day watching the world this way—she had to focus on her training: finding the three metal balls that were hidden around the yard.

Taking in the grounded parts of the scenery—that which she could see with her seismic sense—she was quick to locate one that was hidden in the corner. Reaching out her hand, she brought it out, letting it hover in front of her as she searched for the next one. As requested, Haku made sure that it wasn't in direct contact with the ground—that much was clear. Standing up straight, Lei turned her focus on sensing the metal spheres without seismic sense.

Several faint buzzing sensations split her attention, the telltale sign of metal reacting to her bending abilities as she reached out with it. Most were equidistant from the metalbender, and as she zeroed her senses in on one spot, she confirmed that these were the nails in the fence surrounding the yard. Reaching out with her mind again, she ignored these smallest sensations, leaving only a few remaining pieces.

The first was to her right, only an inch or so above the ground. As she focused on the area with seismic sense and her own bending sense, Lei found that there was a crumpled up sheet with something inside it. Grinning, she reached out to the metal ball and held it with the other one just in front of her.

With only one ball left, the brunette turned her attention directly behind her and opened her eyes. Haku raised an eyebrow as she pointed to his pocket and raised her finger, bringing her final target into the air.

As she returned all three balls to her hand, the blue-eyed man asked, "If I may, what is the purpose of this exercise?"

"Being able to sense and bend metal without seeing it could be very useful in the line of duty, especially when detecting weapons like knives," Lei explained. "Right now I can only do it when I'm well-grounded and standing still, but with enough practice, I'll eventually master this too."

"Is this not a part of typical metalbending training?"

"Well, most metalbenders can use seismic sense since it's an important piece of being able to sense the scarce earth in metal and bend it," she told him. "But that only gives you a picture of what's connected to the earth directly. This technique lets you 'see' and bend hidden metal." She sighed. "It would be easier to master if my father were here to help. He used to be really good at this. Captain Lee brought me up to his level of mastery, but he was never as good as my dad. I only really know to do this because I used to watch him practice from time to time."

Haku hesitated for a moment before asking, "What happened to your father?"

Lei frowned. "He was a metalbending officer. Dad was best friends with Captain Lee, so they took assignments together—watched each other's backs. One day, they were tracking down the Triple Threats, and they ended up on 'Lightning Bolt' Zolt's tail—they almost had him too. Zolt was desperate not to go to jail, so he fired lightning at them. Dad jumped in and took the hit. The shock was amplified by his armor, and... his heart stopped. Healers did what they could, but it was too late by the time they got there." She furrowed her brows as she added, "Zolt got away, and we haven't been able to track him since."

Haku's eyes went wide, horrified. "I'm so sorry. It wasn't my place to ask."

She forced a smile. "It's fine. Honestly, it is. It happened six years ago, and I'm over it now."

The waterbender frowned as his shoulders drooped. "Lei—"

"What about you?" she interrupted. "Are you in a similar situation with your dad?"

He hesitated before shaking his head, brown locks of hair flowing to and fro. "No. I miss my father, but at least I can still see him. He's just in the United Forces, so he's away often."

The metalbender playfully nudged him. "Well, at least you've got me to keep you company in the meantime~!"

His dark skin quickly gained a red hue around his cheeks as he glanced away. "Ah, you don't have to, really."

Lei laughed before giving him a genuine smile as she confessed, "You're keeping me company too."

He raised an eyebrow.

"I mean it, Haku. I don't have many friends, and I really appreciate the time we spend together." She shrugged as she added, "It's just nice to know that someone other than Mom cares."

He smiled softly as he reminded her, "You're always welcome here."

She smiled back. "Thanks."

Growing flustered, he turned back to his papers. "I apologize. I shouldn't be distracting you like this."

The brunette shrugged. "I'm done with this round anyway. It's not a big deal." Raising an eyebrow, she added, "What're you up to anyway?"

He thumbed at the pages as he explained, "I'm reading through what is hopefully the final draft of my application to Ba Sing Se University."

She tilted her head. "Is there a particular reason why you want to study all the way out there?"

"While there are a few universities here and there, none are as good as Ba Sing Se University," Haku began. "I plan to study diplomacy. My father got me interested in the subject. The United Forces try to use it when possible to avoid battle—my father shared details with me when I was a boy, long before we moved to Republic City. I've found the subject fascinating ever since."

Lei put her hands on her hips. "They'll be lucky to have you. Don't worry so much, yeah?"

He forced a smile. "You have much more confidence in my abilities than I do."

The younger teen put her hands on her hips. "Come on, Haku. Why _wouldn't_ I?" She narrowed her eyes. "Don't answer that." As the waterbender slowly closed his mouth, the brunette grinned. "You're _awesome!_ I'm not even exaggerating. You're the smartest and most hardworking person I've ever met. If Ba Sing Se doesn't want you, then they're missing out on the chance of a lifetime. They won't be able to say," she took on a dramatic pose, one hand in the air and the other over her heart as she deepened her voice, "'We taught the genius, philanthropist, ambassador Haku, even though we learned more from him than the other way around!'"

He sighed. "Lei, that's kind of you, but that's—"

"Exactly how it's going to happen," she interjected before giving him an encouraging grin. "I mean it, Haku. You're gonna do great things one day, and I'm sure they'll be able to see that." She playfully punched him. "Have some faith in yourself."

"R-Right..." Haku winced as he rubbed his arm.

Lei flashed him an apologetic smile. "Sorry about that."

-:-

Later that night, Lei had already gone home for dinner. As Haku's mother wasn't working overtime, he remained at his own house this time. The two had been eating together as they discussed their days.

Haku had just finished describing Lei's training exercise when Nanuq teased, "Dear, why don't you just ask her out already?"

The eighteen-year old raised an eyebrow. "Pardon?"

"Just like your father," Nanuq commented. "You talk about Lei so often, it's clear that you have a little crush on her."

His cheeks flushed red as he argued, "Mother, you're mistaken. I simply find her interesting, though she can be a bit… _much_ at times."

"You can't seem to get enough of her," she teased. "You talk about her fairly often."

"She's the only other person I talk to on a daily basis," he argued. "I don't have other people to talk about."

"Uh huh. Just keep telling yourself that," Nanuq commented with a joking tone. "If you wait too long to make a move, she might move on without you."

Haku pursed his lips. Maybe she had a point after all…

-:-

Far away, in the tunnels outside the city, the highest ranked Equalists were gathered around a radio as they discussed their next plan. A man with a long, thin mustache approached the masked leader.

"Amon, we're ready."

The aforementioned leader of the anti-bending rebels put his hands behind his back. "It's time for the revelation." He turned to his lieutenant. "Target the Triple Threats."

"Yes, sir."


	4. Missing

-:-

* * *

 **Book 1: Redemption  
** **Chapter 3: Missing**

* * *

The sun was just rising as Lei strolled through the park, colorful leaves gently floating to the grass below. Despite the beauty and peace of that silent morning, she was still tense. She hadn't heard anything from the chief or Captain Lee in a while. Truth be told, a part of her was beginning to wonder if she should just give up on her dream and start searching for a job elsewhere.

The brunette shook her head. What was she thinking? She couldn't just give up like that! Maybe she should go to the station again today and try to work something out. Still, as much as she tried to keep a positive attitude, the stress from her jobless limbo was leaking into other aspects of her life, particularly with her high levels of agitation at home.

Something shuffled in the leaves nearby. The metalbender froze and reached for a pouch on her belt, but a familiar smiling face popped out from behind. The homeless man waved as he greeted Lei by name.

She relaxed as she stepped closer. "Morning, Gommu."

He ignored the fishing rod in his hand as he asked, "What're you doing here so early?"

Lei's thoughts turned to earlier. She had gotten into a bad argument with Jin over something so trivial that she couldn't even remember what it was about. It quickly devolved into a shouting match. Lei said some things that she regretted, and she left before she could see her sister react.

The teen shrugged. "I just wanted to go for a walk."

He nodded. "Say, would you mind helping me catch one of those tasty fishies to cook up later?"

Lei glanced around to make sure the park patrol wasn't around before bending a long needle from a pouch on her belt and spearing it into the water. Several moments passed before she levitated her needle—and the catch—out and into Gommu's bag. After slipping the fish off her steel, she cleaned it and returned it to her pouch.

"Thanks a million, Lei." After closing the bag, he eyed her two pouches and asked, "Say, aren't those the ones the old Elite used to wear before they switched to the spools on their backs?"

She nodded. "Yup! These canisters were my fathers—though I emptied this one to make room for my needles."

He nodded with a grin. "You sure are creative, kiddo. Just like your folks."

The young woman smiled and thanked him, thoughts turning to how lucky she was to have her parents—at least for the time her father was alive.

Changing the subject, she asked, "So, have you heard any news lately?"

Gommu put a hand on his bearded chin. "Well, Avatar Korra and some handsome fellow are searching for his missing brother." He pointed to a tree in the distance. "They're sleeping right over yonder, waiting for that Equalist protester to show up."

Lei grinned. This was the perfect chance to prove that she was worthy of being an officer!

She ran off as she called back, "Thanks, Gommu!"

As the earthbender approached, she saw a man and woman sleeping against a polar bear dog with a fire ferret on its back—though the people seemed to be about her age. The woman on the left was of clear Water Tribe descent with her dark skin and hair on top of her blue clothing. She must have been Avatar Korra.

The guy on the right was pale, his black hair styled up. The gray clothing told Lei that he was probably a native of Republic City and didn't likely care much about his heritage, though his bright red scarf stood out against it. Truth be told, he seemed oddly familiar.

She stopped before the sleeping teens. "Excuse me."

Neither of them moved.

She cleared her throat, but that didn't work either.

Eyebrows twitching, she shook the ground with her earthbending, just enough to wake them as she repeated, "Excuse me?"

Their eyes groggily peeked open before they glanced to each other and awkwardly jolted away. A few moments passed before they realized Lei's presence and both scrambled to their feet. The man was the first to speak, his tone irritated as he straightened his clothes.

"What's the big—" He stopped as he looked up at her, stuttering his words for a moment before forcing a cough and glancing away. "Uh… Can I help you?"

Avatar Korra frowned slightly as she glanced between the two.

Meanwhile, the earthbender grinned, oblivious to his reaction. "Yeah, it looks like you guys could use some help finding someone. I'm Cadet Lei Chen of the Metalbending Elite."

The Avatar winced slightly, unsurprising as Lei had heard about her arrest on her first day here. "I'm Korra, and this is Mako."

So that's why he seemed familiar. The Fire Ferrets were featured in an article a few months back, and all three of their faces were included—though, this was before Korra joined the team.

Mako remained silent as he carefully scrutinized Lei, likely not believing her story with her being in civilian clothes.

Frowning, the metalbender added, "I'm… _off-duty_ right now, but have experience in missing persons cases, if you'll have me, and with my seismic sense, I could easily find places where someone is being kept."

The older firebender pursed his lips before Korra chimed in, "Having someone experienced might help us save Bolin sooner."

He glanced between Lei and Korra before warning, "We're up against Equalists. They'll paralyze you without your armor."

"Trust me, I'll be fine even without it," she assured him. "After years of sparring with my sister, I can easily avoid their attacks."

With both women's expectant gazes on him, Mako conceded and filled her in. Apparently his brother was kidnapped by Equalists last night, and they were waiting for a protester to show up to see if he knows anything. Sure, it was a long shot, but it was the only lead they had right now.

Right on cue, a loud voice erupted from behind. "Equality now! Equality now! We want equality now!"

Lei turned around to see a man with a megaphone standing on a short table in front of a poster of the Equalist leader, Amon.

Korra pointed to him. "That's the guy."

As the three of then headed over, Lei recognized the protester as a man who had a history of being arrested for disturbing the peace until he moved on to the Equalists. She frowned. This man was just an attention-seeker. She highly doubted he would know anything useful.

"Non-benders of Republic City: Amon calls you to action! Take back your city! It's time for the—" He stopped and gasped as his eyes landed on the group. "It's _you_ again! You cannot silence me, Avatar!" He turned to Lei. "And I am within my rights to protest here! You cannot arrest me this time!"

Mako raised an eyebrow. "This time?"

Korra slapped the protester's megaphone to the ground. "Shut your yapper and listen up. My friend got kidnapped by some chi-blockers. Where'd they take him?"

He folded his arms and looks away. "I have _no idea_ what you're talking about."

She narrowed her eyes, tone low. "Oh, I think you do."

Before the others could react, Korra launched his table into the air, sending flyers everywhere as the protester fell to the ground.

As he scrambled to gather them all, Mako caught one and read it aloud. "Witness the revelation tonight. Nine o'clock." He looked up at the non-bender. "What's this revelation?"

The protester narrowed his eyes. "Nothing that concerns the likes of _you three."_

Korra grabbed him by the collar and held him above her head. "You better believe it concerns us. Spill it."

Lei frowned. The Avatar was just going worsen the rift between benders and non-benders if she acted like this. "Uh… Korra?"

"N-No one knows what the revelation is, and I have no idea what happened to your friend, but if he's a bender, then my bet is he's getting what's coming to him."

Mako narrowed his eyes. "Where's it happening?"

A whistle blew in the distance as a park patrolman slowly ran over. "Hey, what's going on over there?!"

Lei tensed as her lips curved into a sheepish grin. It did look pretty bad, didn't it?

The protester cried out, "The Avatar is oppressing us. Help!"

Korra dropped him, addressing Lei and Mako. "Let's scram."

The earthbender followed closely as the firebender grabbed a handful of flyers. Korra jumped onto her towering polar bear dog. Mako was next before Lei jumped on behind him and the three of them made their escape.

Later at a bus stop, Lei frowned as she held two flyers together, the backs forming an oddly familiar image with a red spot on one corner.

Korra pouted. "Why didn't the Equalists put a location on these?"

"Probably because they don't want just anyone waltzing in on their big ' _revelation',"_ Mako suggested. "Whatever that is… I bet the information's on here somehow. Look at the backs. There's four different images."

Korra smiled. "So, it's a puzzle?"

"Or a map," Lei suggested.

Mako reached down and matched two together. Lei's eyes widened as she moved over and held hers against his, forming a large image. He took the flyers and held them over the map on the wall until he matched the location.

"Bingo. That must be where it's going down."

After a few moments, she asked, "Now what?"

"We should probably find something to disguise ourselves," Mako suggested. "Between that protestor recognizing you two, and my face being in the papers, we can't risk people figuring out who we are—not before we save Bolin."

She nodded.

"We should probably split up," Korra pointed out. "I can go with Mako and you can meet us inside."

The firebender raised an eyebrow at her before turning to Lei. "You said that you have seismic sense, right? How good are you at recognizing people with it?"

"Well..." She waved her hand to indicate her so-so feelings. "I'm not very good when it comes to new faces, but I can track you guys as you walk in and just come a few minutes later."

-:-

Later that night, dressed in less vibrant clothes with a knit hat concealing much of her face, Lei followed the plan and made her way up to the warehouse entrance, where she was stopped by the bouncer.

He folded his arms. "This is a private event: no one gets in without an invitation."

Following what she had just seen Mako and Korra do, the earthbender showed him a flyer.

The bouncer smiled as he stepped aside and beckoned her into the warehouse. "The revelation is upon us, my sister."

Lei gave him a short nod before making her way inside, where hundreds of bender-hating civilians were gathered with bated breath to see their hero, Amon. At the far end of the warehouse was a long stage. Ignoring the non-benders, she made her way to her acquaintances in the center of the crowd. The three of them exchanged glances before the announcer's voice rang out from the rafters.

"Please welcome, your hero, your savior… AMON!"

Cheers roared from the crowd as the stage floor opened with a bright light and smoke, a platform rising up from below. On it were the masked man, Amon, and several of—what Lei assumed were—high ranking Equalists in a row behind him. Most of them were wearing the same gas-masked uniform that she was used to seeing with their few scuffles with the Elite, but one man stood out from the rest. He was wearing the same green-tinted goggles over his eyes, but his face below that was shown with a long and thin mustache and a neutral expression. Also unlike the others were the two batons strapped to his back. Perhaps he wasn't a chi-blocker like the rest of them.

Amon stepped forward and took the microphone as he addressed the crowd. "My quest for equality began many years ago. When I was a boy, my family and I lived on a small farm. We weren't rich, and none of us were benders. This made us very easy targets for the firebender who extorted my father… One day, my father confronted this man, but when he did… that firebender took my family from me, then… he took my face." Gasps erupted from the crowd. "I've been forced to hide behind a mask ever since."

Lei tightened her lips into a thin line. No one deserved that.

"As you know, the Avatar has recently arrived in Republic City," Amon continued, prompting boos from the crowd.

Korra pulled up her scarf to cover her face more as Mako took a step closer.

"And if she were here, she would tell you that bending brings balance to the world, but… she is wrong. The only thing bending has brought to the world is suffering. It has been the cause of _every war_ in _every era._ But _that_ is about to change…"

Lei scowled at the stage. That couldn't possibly be true. Selfish people were the cause of wars.

"I know you have been wondering: what _is_ the revelation?" the masked leader addressed the audience. "You are about to get your answer... Since the beginning of time, the spirits have acted as guardians of our world… and they have spoken to me. They say the Avatar _failed_ humanity. That is why the spirits have chosen me to usher in a new era of balance. They have granted me a power that will make equality a reality: the power to take a person's bending away… _permanently."_

Korra tensed and whispered, "That's… impossible. There's no way."

"This guy's insane," Mako commented.

Amon drew Lei's attention again, gesturing to the side. "Now, for a demonstration… Please welcome 'Lightning Bolt' Zolt—leader of the Triple Threat Triad, and one of the most notorious criminals in Republic City."

The man who murdered her father was dragged onto the stage, his arms tied behind his back. He was met with hundreds of boos as he scoffed and called out, "Ah, boo yourself!"

Rage swelled within Lei as she clenched her fists, her entire body shaking, but she couldn't move. She was too scared. Alongside her anger came a sense of relief and guilt. She knew it was wrong to feel this way, but a part of herself insisted that what was about to happen to Zolt was karma for killing her father.

Four more men, each tied up, were taken onto the stage and pushed to their knees in a row at the back. To the far right was a teenaged boy, looking terrified.

Mako tensed. "That's Bolin."

Korra took a step forward, but the firebender stopped her. "Wait. We can't fight them all. We need to be smart about this."

"Then come up with a game plan, _team captain."_

Amon addressed the people again. "In the interest of fairness, I will give Zolt the chance to fight to keep his bending."

As the crime boss was untied, he warned, "You're gonna regret doing that, pal!"

Immediately, he began an onslaught of attacks, but the masked man effortlessly dodged each fire blast and his sustained lightning. Amon managed to twist Zolt around with one hand on the base of his neck and the other on his forehead, directing Zolt's lightning to the ceiling as his eyes widened. Slowly, the lightning became fire, and withered into nothing before the firebender collapsed.

Amon spoke again. "Your firebending is gone… _forever."_ He turned to the crowd as he added, "The era of bending is over. A new era of equality has begun."

Lei tensed, overwhelmed with a mixture of awe and horror at the man's power. Meanwhile Mako instructed Korra to bend a steam cover from the machines off to the side.

"Me and Lei will run in and grab Bolin without anyone seeing," he continued. "Then all four of us can make a run for it."

Korra nodded. "Sounds good to me. Good luck."

"You too."

The Avatar silently backed away, leaving Lei with Mako as the two of them carefully pushed forward. As they neared the stage, one by one, the Triple Threats' bending were being taken away until there was only the young teen left.

Bolin was untied and stood across from the masked Equalist, nerves pouring through his shaky voice. "Uh… hello, Amon, sir… I think there's been a _big_ misunderstanding…"

Amon took a step toward him, and Mako tensed.

"Times up. Let's move!" Lei launched herself onto the stage, landing with her back to Bolin and her arms raised to attack Amon.

Her heart pounded in her chest as she realized what she had just gotten herself into, the masked man staring wordlessly at her.

Mist exploded from the side wall, rapidly expanding into the warehouse as the crowd screamed in horror and tried to escape. Amon turned to see where the explosion had occurred before slowly backing away. Mako was quick to arrive by their sides.

A chi-blocker grabbed Bolin from behind, but Mako twisted his arm and flipped him off the stage.

Turning to his younger brother he asked, "Bolin, you alright?"

The earthbender was silent for a moment before opening his arms for a hug. "Yes! Mako! I love you!"

To the side, Lei sensed a metal ladder that they could use to escape. "Over there!"

She ran ahead, the brothers following shortly after. As the three of them were climbing down the ladder outside the building, Amon's mustachioed lieutenant appeared at the top. Lei raised an eyebrow as he took his batons, swung them around, and hit the top rung. Electricity surged through their bodies, making them cry out as they fell to the ground below. The Equalist jumped down after the teens, but all three managed to back away just in time, forming a triangle around him.

Lei narrowed her eyes as she realized that she wouldn't be able to use her cable against his electrified batons. Raising her fists, she immediately launched a chunk of earth at him. The lieutenant dodged as he came after her. Narrowing her eyes, she repeatedly attacked, but was unable to land a hit. He was quick to electrocute the metalbender again and go after the brothers as she collapsed to the ground.

Her nerves were fried from the attack, leaving the brunette lying there as she heard him take down one of the brothers and go after the other. Clenching her teeth, Lei weakly pushed herself up and saw him electrocuting Mako against the wall. Narrowing her eyes, she shot a needle at the lieutenant, embedding it in the main chi point in his upper arm, making him drop one baton as his arm went limp. He backed away from Mako, letting the firebender drop to the ground.

He narrowed his eyes as the metalbender took back the needle from afar. "Where did you learn that?"

As she stood and raised her fists to fight again, he was blasted against the wall with an earth attack.

Turning to the side, she saw the Avatar returning to a normal stance and calling out, "Naga!"

Her polar bear dog raced to the area as she and Mako mounted the animal. As Equalists surrounded them, Lei launched herself into the air and used her cable to propel herself forward on the overhead wires. Naga grabbed Bolin's shirt with her teeth as the trio escaped with her, narrowly avoiding getting caught.

The lieutenant pointed with his good arm. "The Avatar. That's her!"

Amon stepped out from behind, his voice calm as he commanded, "Let her go. She's the perfect messenger to tell the city of my power."

-:-

After ensuring that they weren't being followed, the four teens went their separate ways—though they thanked Lei for her help first. Korra went off to tell Councilman Tenzin, who she was apparently staying with on Air Temple Island, while Mako and Bolin decided to just go home. In the meantime, Lei made her way downtown to Police Headquarters.

The moon was high as she stood at attention in Chief Beifong's office, Captains Lee and Saikhan on either side of her, eagerly explaining her role in the discovery of the Equalists' true purpose, and of Amon's power.

When the cadet was finished with her tale, Lin frowned from her desk. "If that's true, then this rebellion is more dangerous than we've given them credit for."

"It's all true, Ma'am," Lei assured her. "I saw it with my own eyes—just ask the Avatar: she was there too."

The chief thanked the teen for the information before dismissing her.

Eyebrows briefly furrowing, Lei pouted. "Isn't there anything _else_ you have to tell me?"

Lin raised an eyebrow before dryly telling her, "I may be chief, but I trust Captain Lee to make the best decision for his team— _he's_ your mentor, not me."

Turning to Lee, he frowned. "You're not allowed back on the team yet."

"Why not?"

He sighed before explaining, "You should have come to us right after finding out about the missing boy. You only should have gone forward as you did if we didn't have the resources to help. What you did was incredibly reckless."

"But—"

"No 'buts'. You have to think about the consequences of your actions. As one of the Elite, you have to make the best choices for everyone," he reminded her. "To be honest, I was going to let you back next week, but now I'm beginning to worry that letting you back at all would be bad for both you and this team."

Lei opened her mouth, more than ready to fight for her position, but she held her tongue. _Clearly_ this style of approach to the situation was bringing her nothing but grief. Perhaps patience would be the key this time. With a short nod, she left.

-:-

After a long trudge across the city, Lei finally made her way home. As she closed the door behind her, she noticed her older sister washing the dishes. Jin looked to Lei and frowned—likely expecting their mother—before wordlessly turning her attention to her task. Lei's shoulders drooped as she recalled their argument that morning and all the horrible things she said to her older sister. Taking a deep breath, she rolled up her sleeves and stepped beside her. Jin tensed as Lei reached into the sink and started helping.

Several long minutes passed before Lei broke the silence. "I'm sorry… about what I said this morning."

Jin froze and glanced to the brunette, lips tightened into a thin line.

"I know that Dad's death really affected you too," Lei admitted. "I know that you tried to hide it to make me feel better. It was wrong to say otherwise."

Jin's silence drowned the earthbender before she continued washing and finally answered, her voice soft. "It's weird how much can change in such little time."

Lei nodded as she thought back to their childhood with a soft smile. "Do you remember when Dad worked nights, how we used to hang out in the back room of the studio when Mom was teaching those self-defense classes? You used to read her chi-blocking books to me."

"You used to get so into those—probably more than some of her students."

The younger sister nodded with a laugh. "Oh, and remember the time you knocked out that kid who was picking on me?"

Her lips twitched into a small smile. "Yeah… it was before you got your bending. No one hurts _my_ little sister."

With a wry grin, Lei pulled her soapy hands from the sink and outstretched her arms toward her sister. "Aww~! You're the _best_ big sister ever. Gimme a hug~!"

Jin immediately backed away and held up her hands. "Ew, no! You'll get my dress dirty."

"C'mon~! You know you want to."

"No way."

Before she could escape, Lei caught Jin in her embrace. The redhead let out an exasperated groan as she accepted her watery fate.

Snickering, Lei playfully called out, "Love you, Jin~!"

The older teen patted her sister's head with her own soap-covered hands, holding back a laugh. "Love you too, brat."

"Jerk."

She chuckled. "Now let go. We need to finish these before Mom gets home."

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:** I hope that you enjoyed this chapter and the tease at canon overlap. If you did, please feel free to leave a review!_


	5. Relationships

-:-

* * *

 **Book 1: Redemption  
Chapter 4: Relationships**

* * *

Several weeks had passed since Lei's run-in with the Equalists and Avatar Korra, yet she still heard no word from Captain Lee on when he would allow her to return. The metalbender had mostly been spending her time reading through the handbook for the millionth time and training in the backyard to keep her mind busy, but as the days grew colder, her will to continue began to fade.

The teen had been moping around the house all day, now lying on her bed as she stared at the silver badge between her fingers. Once a cadet is made an officer, there is a short ceremony of sorts where the badge is pinned upside down on their armor—in its usual position for officers. Lei was hoping to go through this soon, but the chances seemed slim with everything that had been going on. With a sigh, she looked up, mind wandering elsewhere. Maybe Lee was right... maybe she just wasn't cut out for this.

A knock at the door prompted the brunette to stand and make her way into the main room, but her mother beat her to the door and opened it, revealing her best friend in a snazzy tuxedo.

Ping smiled. "It's nice to see you again, Taifeng. How have your parents been?"

He tensed and glanced away. "Fine. Is Lei around?"

Answering his question, the young woman stepped into view with a soft smile. "Hey. Why're you all dressed up?"

He gave her a lopsided grin. "Tarrlok's throwing a gala for Avatar Korra tonight. You've been such a sad sack lately, so I'm taking you out whether you like it or not."

Lei's friend and coworker pulled out a package from behind his back and handed it to her. Upon opening it, she found a dress inside. It was a bright green to match her heritage, with a more modern sleeveless style. While she wasn't there to shop for it herself, it looked like something she would have picked for such a formal event anyway.

He knew her well.

Ping chimed in with an encouraging smile, "I think that's a wonderful idea. Getting out of the house and socializing will help you."

Taifeng nodded before pushing Lei toward her room, "Go on. Get ready so we can go."

The teen laughed as she stepped inside. "I'll be just a minute!"

After changing and fixing her hair to match the formal style of the gala, Lei returned to the main room and stopped next to Taifeng. The earthbender's mother grew teary-eyed as she looked between the two teens with a sad smile.

She laughed and wiped a tear as she apologized. "I remember when you were both little kids playing together in our backyard. You just look so grown up now. Where did the time go?" She sighed before ushering them out. "Have fun!"

As Ping waved them off, Lei and Taifeng started making their way to the gala, the moon rising as they walked side by side.

"I tried to talk to my Dad a few times to see if he'd bring you back sooner," Taifeng confessed, his brows furrowed slightly. "Obviously that hasn't done much of anything… but the chief's concerned about the rise in Equalist activity after what you found out. I think she'll end up overriding Dad's decision and bringing you back—we'll need as much strength in the Elite as possible."

"Doesn't Tarrlok have a task force targeting the Equalists?" she asked. "Would she really feel the need to have us do the same?"

"Yeah, but do you honestly expect his vanity project to do much good?" he retorted, eyebrow raised. "Beifong will bring you back… It's only a matter of time."

Lei grinned. "Yeah, you're right. Thanks, Taifeng."

The older teen returned her expression with a playful nudge. "It's no problem. _Someone's_ gotta keep you going."

She laughed before flashing him an apologetic smile. "Hey, I never got to say sorry for skipping out a few weeks ago. How did the move go?"

He waved a hand dismissively. "It's alright. You were pretty busy with that whole Equalist thing anyway. Shirou was able to stop by and help. I didn't have much to bring anyway."

"That's good." She nodded to herself. "Y'know, I'm honestly surprised that you managed to find an apartment at such last minute. Why did you move out so suddenly?"

Taifeng tensed and avoided eye-contact. "Let's just say that I don't see eye-to-eye with my Dad on a lot of things, and leave it at that."

"Oh..." She trailed off before asking, "So, how do you like living on your own?"

His lips curved into a wide grin. "It's great. I wish I'd moved out sooner. If I were you, I'd do the same as soon as I reached officer. You'll be _much_ happier."

The brunette shrugged. "I guess... It hasn't been so bad lately."

"With Jin?"

"Yeah." The pair fell silent again before Lei asked, "Have you heard any news on that kidnapper? It's been a while since the last disappearance."

He frowned. "No, but everyone's going to be vigilant from next month onward just in case he comes back early again."

Cars drove by as the teens approached the gala, marked by the swinging music coming from within and the massive banners of Avatar Korra hanging outside the building. Hundreds of Republic City's most influential people filled the rooms as Lei stepped inside with Taifeng. Not even a minute had passed before they ran into two familiar faces.

Lee and his wife smiled at their son, but the teen immediately tensed and glanced away. The Captain then glanced to Lei and furrowed his eyebrows. The young earthbender awkwardly waved at him.

Taifeng scowled and stepped between Lei and his father as he snapped, "She's not here to start another argument. She's just here as my date today."

His parents exchanged confused glances while he rolled his eyes and dragged Lei away.

Once they were out of earshot, he mumbled, "Sorry."

Looking around, the young woman caught another group making their way toward her. Mako was at the front with a beautiful woman at his side and his brother not far from the pair. Behind them was a middle-aged man who the whole city could recognize—inventor of the satomobile, supplier of all police vehicles, and head of Future Industries: Hiroshi Sato.

Mako gestured to the cadet. "This is Officer Lei Chen. She's the person who helped us save Bolin."

The older man stepped forward, placing a hand on Lei's shoulder. "So you're the girl I've heard so much about. My name is Hiroshi Sato and this is my daughter, Asami. Thank you for your bravery in saving this young bender."

Asami smiled and thanked her, but the youngest earthbender's volume overpowered hers.

Upon locking eyes with Lei, Bolin grinned and wrapped her in a bear hug. "It's you again! I can't thank you enough for saving me from Amon!"

Lei laughed as she hugged him back. "I'm always glad to help anyone in need."

Mako frowned slightly as he glanced between Lei and Taifeng. "Uh… Bo?"

Bolin backed away. "Huh?"

The firebender sighed and shook his head before turning to Taifeng. "Sorry about him."

Bolin furrowed his eyebrows. "What'd I do?"

Mako grabbed his brother's arm. "I'll tell you later. Why don't we go say hi to Korra?"

His face immediately lit up. "Korra's here?"

Once the groups parted, Taifeng commented, "That Mako guy probably thought we were a couple."

Lei tilted her head. "Why would that matter anyway? He was just hugging me to say thanks."

"It wouldn't," he assured her, "but some people get possessive, and he probably just assumed on the side of caution."

After having refreshments and mingling around some more, the pair found themselves listening to the jazzy music played by the live performers. It wasn't long before Taifeng convinced Lei to dance with him. Her footwork was stiff and gave off an uncomfortable appearance, especially in contrast to the fancy-footed nonbender.

The raven-haired teen snickered. "Man, you really suck at this, Lei. I know you earthbenders are supposed to be as unmovable as earth, but you can't stick to your training in all walks of life—you need to be more flexible."

She laughed and stuck her tongue out at him. "Alright, twinkletoes, I dare you to do better."

He smirked. "Watch and learn, Lei. Watch. And. Learn."

Lei's best friend proceeded to dance circles around her—literally—showing off all his skills and showing her up in the process. Perhaps it was her own competitive streak or just her love of fun, but she joined in soon after—her awkward movements a stark contrast to his grace as they danced the night away.

-:-

It was only after Lei left the gala when she heard how Councilman Tarrlok manipulated Avatar Korra into joining his task force. Their teamwork lasted a few weeks before the headlines grew silent.

Using her earthbending, she held up a dummy in the corner of her small backyard—only the body's chi points marked on it. Levitating her bending needles from their pouch, she shot them into her targets.

"Good evening, Lei."

She blinked owlishly for a moment, but grinned and turned upon recognizing the voice. "Hey, how's it going?"

Haku smiled at her from over the short fence that separated their houses.

"Hey, now that you're here, would you like to spar with me?" the metalbender asked. "It's easier to practice with a partner."

The brunet shook his head. "No, but thank you for offering."

She flashed him a grin. "Come on, don't be such a spoil-sport. It would be fun. _Please~?"_ A moment passed, and she added, "You should be able to protect yourself from the Equalists. Word is, there's a bunch of them living in the area."

He frowned as he straightened his posture. "I appreciate your concern, Lei, but my answer is still no. I may be a waterbender, but I am not a fighter and I will not use my abilities for such. I ask that you please respect my wishes."

She pouted. "Aww... fine..."

Changing the subject, he asked, "Do you know what came of the Avatar's challenge to Amon? I heard rumors that she left Councilman Tarrlok's task force shortly thereafter." Looking down, he added, "Admittedly, I'm concerned that Amon may have taken her bending away… The world would struggle to retain balance without the Avatar."

"Well…" The earthbender glanced around before whispering, "Taifeng told me what happened, but you gotta keep it a secret."

She went on to explain how Korra went to the statue of Avatar Aang on the night of her challenge and was attacked by Equalists. Amon was there, but didn't take her bending away—he only threatened her and knocked her out. She quit Tarrlok's task force after that, but nothing was made public. Lei only knew what Taifeng overheard from Chief Beifong.

Haku pursed his lips and nodded. "I see. Hopefully she can stop Amon before he manipulates this rift between benders and non-benders into an all-out war..." Lei started to practice again when he commented, "We need someone to unify not just Republic City, but the United Republic as a whole. With our council full of appointed benders, and so politically divided, I feel that we need a new approach to achieve this goal."

She raised an eyebrow. "How would we be able to change it with the people so divided? I mean, no matter what, some people would be upset with whoever's in charge. The United Republic is a diverse nation."

He pursed his lips. "That's true. Perhaps this is the sort of position that should change every so often—with fresh leaders when the current ones are no longer able to help the nation prosper… and who represent the majority's wishes for the future. We could hold a national vote to determine the leader."

Lei frowned. "Even if you had a perfect system—and I know you could easily do that—we'll still have a problem switching over. Councilman Tenzin and most of the others may agree to it, but I really doubt that Tarrlok would let go of his power so easily."

The scholar sighed. "I fear you may be correct. A man can dream, though."

Lei embedded another needle into the chi point at the base of the dummy's neck.

As she drew her weapons back, Haku tilted his head. "I've been meaning to bring this up… How did you come to learn chi-blocking? It's uncommon among benders."

"My mother was a Kyoshi Warrior before she moved to Republic City," she explained. "They fight with their fans and chi-blocking. She taught Jin and I when we were little. I just adapted it for long-distance combat."

He nodded sagely. "Ah, Kyoshi Island is a great cultural hub of the Earth Kingdom. I once read that after the Hundred Year War, they began accepting members from the Fire Nation and Water Tribes."

She nodded. "That was about the time when chi-blocking became a staple in their combat. It's pretty interesting how the fighting styles merged." With a smile, she added, "My mom even brought chi-blocking classes to Republic City when she moved here—she had her own academy and everything until Dad died."

The waterbender frowned. "She gave it up?"

"She couldn't afford to keep it running and us under a roof at the same time," the young woman explained. "That's why we ended up moving here from our old home. It was the only place she could afford, even while doing overtime at the hospital."

"I see…" He grew quiet for a moment before asking, "How are you and Jin doing?"

Lei smiled softly. "It's… actually not bad. Sure, we still fight, but that's what siblings do—I'm pretty sure, at least. We'll get through this."

-:-

With Nanuq working late again, Haku joined the Chen's for dinner. Both Lei's sister and mother were present for the meal, so it was a full house. Partway through it, Jin cleared her throat, drawing the attention of the other occupants.

"So, the Wolfbats made it to the pro-bending finals again, and Tahno gave me a few free tickets," she began, looking between her mother and sister. "Would you guys want to come to the game with me next week?"

Lei's lips extended into a wide grin. "Heck, yeah! This is gonna be _awesome!_ Thanks, Jin!"

Ping smiled apologetically. "I would love to, sweetheart, but I'm working a double shift. I can't tell you how happy I am to see you two getting along again, though."

Her daughters exchanged smiles before Jin turned to Haku. "You can come too, if you want."

The dark-skinned man frowned slightly and tilted his head. "I appreciate the offer, but I have never followed Pro-Bending before. How does the sport work?"

"There are three benders on a team," Lei began, "an earthbender, a firebender, and a waterbender. The goal is to knock the opposing team over the back end of the arena and into the water, or as far back as possible. The placement of the players on the field counts as points if anyone is still standing."

Haku furrowed his brow. "I'm not sure I follow… So, there are sections on this arena?"

She grinned and waved dismissively. "Don't worry. I'll explain it at the arena, but you're really smart and you'll probably pick up on it way faster than I did the first time." He smiled and she added, "Jin's boyfriend, Tahno, is the captain of the White Falls Wolfbats—the defending champions." Lei leaned in and stage-whispered, "They cheat a lot."

"Hey!" Jin protested.

The earthbender playfully stuck out her tongue.

"The Wolfbats are playing the rookie team, the Future Industries Fire Ferrets," Jin explained.

Haku raised an eyebrow. "Future Industries… I'm surprised Mr. Sato was willing to support a team of benders after what happened to his wife."

Lei's eyes widened. "You know about that?"

He nodded. "I may not have lived in the city at the time, but the Sato's are known around the nation. Her murder was in the news for months… It's good that he didn't let it fester into a prejudice against benders."

"His daughter seems to be dating the firebender on the team, Mako," Lei commented.

"Mako…" he repeated pensively. "That's the person you helped at the Equalist rally a few weeks ago?"

"Yeah. His brother, Bolin, is the earthbender on the team."

"Then the Avatar is the waterbender, correct?" Lei nodded, and Haku clarified, "I read about them a few months ago, when the Avatar joined their team. This could be an interesting experience." He turned to Jin with a smile and bowed his head. "Thank you for your generous offer."


	6. Hero

-:-

* * *

 **Book 1: Redemption  
** **Chapter 5: Hero**

* * *

To say the day had been confusing and eventful would be an understatement. Taifeng stopped by during his lunch break to bring Lei all the news she had missed.

He had a hand in his pocket as he leaned against the wall and sipped his tea. "My dad's gonna have to let you back in the next few days whether he wants to or not. Thanks to this morning's threat to the pro-bending finals on top of the Equalists' rise in activity, we really need all the manpower we can get."

Lei grinned, hoping his predictions came true soon.

After a moment, she asked, "What came of that threat? I thought it was canceled, but—according to Jin—it's still on."

"Apparently, the Fire Ferrets barged in on a private council meeting to make sure the finals happened," he began before laughing somewhat. "Beifong came in too and offered for the Elite to protect the stadium since your armor is impervious to chi-blocking attacks. The council took it, and the finals are back on."

The metalbender nodded to herself. "Will there be other officers there too?"

"Not many. She doesn't want us to be at risk," the nonbender explained before flashing her a smirk. "I'll be patrolling where I can, though. I'll make sure you're safe." He finished with a wink.

She snickered before dramatically holding her hand to her heart. "Oh, _my hero~!"_

He laughed before playfully nudging the younger teen. Looking down, his joy faded. His grin morphed into a frown before he sighed. Lei raised an eyebrow as she tilted her head slightly.

Taifeng turned to her with an uncharacteristically serious expression. "You should still bring something to protect yourself with—just in case."

Her smile faded for a moment before returning with force as she playfully elbowed him. "I'll be careful—don't you worry."

-:-

Later that night, cheers erupted through the pro-bending arena as Lei's small group took their seats in the middle of a section that was eye-level to the playing field—Tahno certainly didn't skimp on the luxuries for his girlfriend. Jin and her friend, Miksa, were to one side of Lei while Haku took his place on the other. The earthbender shifted her weapon pouches slightly toward her thighs so she could comfortably sit. As Jin and her friend jovially chatted about the coming match, Lei looked around the arena. With all the excitement in the air, the only reminder of Amon's threat were the Elite officers stationed at each entrance.

Shiro Shinobi's voice rang out over the speakers, _"The anticipation is palpable as we are just moments away from the Championship match. Will the Wolfbats' ferocity help them repeat as champs or will the underdog Fire Ferrets serve up a surprising bowl of smack-down soup?"_

Lei turned to Haku, who smiled somewhat nervously as he admitted, "The atmosphere is incredible. I'm actually excited to see how this works—I only hope I can figure it out."

She flashed him an encouraging grin. "You'll be fine, Haku. If you have any questions, just ask, okay?"

A man rose from below the field on the middle circle, microphone in hand. "Introducing the challengers, the Future Industries Fire Ferrets!"

Out came Mako, Bolin, and Avatar Korra as they waved to the crowd. When the team reached the playing field, Pabu did a handstand and a few tricks that the young earthbender must have taught him. There was a short applause before the spotlight faded.

"And their opponents: the three-time defending champions, the White Falls Wolfbats!"

The spotlights landed on three costumed men on the opposite side as they posed and howled. Fireworks went off around the stadium to celebrate the champions as their fans went wild. Jin joined in the howl as she stood, while Miksa cried tears of joy. The front man stepped forward and dramatically threw off his mask and cape, dropping them into the waters below.

Lei leaned toward Haku and explained, "That's Tahno, Jin's boyfriend. I think Miksa is dating one of those other guys too."

When the teams were lined up, Shiro Shinobi began. _"The champs and challengers face off at the center line. And here we go!"_

The bell rang and the match began. All was going fairly in an excited and seemingly evenly-matched game. Jin excitedly cheered as the Wolfbats pushed Korra and Mako into the next zone. When Lei turned, she saw something spark in Haku's concentrated gaze, his eyes rapidly following the action as he deciphered the rules.

Lei enthusiastically cheered for the Fire Ferrets before flashing her sister a smirk. Jin gave her a competitive grin before cheering even louder for the Wolfbats.

 _"The waterbenders slug it out, looking evenly matched. Tahno gets a little too worked-up and unleashes a deluge on Bolin that will certainly elicit a foul…"_

The earthbender was knocked all the way to zone three, but the buzzer sounded and the Wolfbats advanced.

 _"…Or apparently not."_

Outrage sparked from the Fire Ferrets and some of the audience—even Haku seemed disturbed—but the referee ushered for play to continue.

 _"And the Wolfbats advance despite Tahno exceeding the waterbending time limit—a QUESTIONABLE call by the officials."_

Bolin jumped to avoid an earth disk shot at his feet, but he landed on a slippery new ground and was hit again, knocking him into the pool.

 _"Looks like Tahno snuck in an illegal icing move, but once again there's no call. I don't know what match the refs are watching, but it's OBVIOUSLY not this one."_

Mako and Korra were quickly knocked into zone three, and as the firebender stepped in front to block a fire blast, the pair were inundated and thrown over the edge.

 _"IT'S A KNOCKOUT! The Wolfbats win the championship for a fourth year in a row."_

Jin and Miksa screamed and jumped for their team as the Wolfbats turned and waved to the crowd.

 _"HOLD ON A SECOND, FOLKS! Scratch that. The Ferrets are still alive, but just barely."_

Mako was flung back onto the field and blasted Tahno. The waterbender whipped around and glared at his opponent, who boxed in placed and tauntingly winked as the bell signaled the end of the round.

Lei's eyes went wide and her mouth agape as she turned to Haku. "Wow, did you see that? She _threw_ him onto the field— _with one arm!_ That was incredible!"

He nodded, a small grin on his lips. "She's strong."

Jin pursed her lips. "She is—I'll admit—but she's not strong enough to beat _Tahno!"_

Lei playfully got in her sister's face. _"In your dreams!_ We're gonna kick your butts. Underdogs for the win!"

Round two was filled with more cheating from the Wolfbats with everything from ice to headshots, but the Fire Ferrets toughed it out. When the final buzzer rang, there was one player in each zone, ending in a tie. The Fire Ferrets won the coin toss for the tie-breaker and chose water.

Korra and Tahno stepped onto the inner circle, which was raised above the field as the players took their stances. He taunted the Avatar into attacking first, but she faked him out and easily knocked him off the ring. Jin went wide-eyed, frozen in shock as the Avatar taunted Tahno back.

 _"One round a piece. Who wants it more?"_

Round three was immediately tense with both teams going all out. Tahno stepped behind his teammate for a moment before hitting all three Fire Ferrets with headshots, knocking them from zone one all the way into the pool below.

 _"Oh, this has gone TOO far. That water had ROCKS in it!"_

The referee called the knockout, and therefore the match, resulting in an uproar of cheers and boos from the crowd as the Wolfbats waved to their fans from their end of the field. Jin was leaping for joy with Miksa as they screamed for their team. As Lei turned to look, she noticed sparks of electricity around the exits—where the Elite were stationed.

Time seemed to slow as her eyes widened: it was an attack.

There were a few seconds of sparks coming from the pool on the challengers' side of the field, likely taking out the Fire Ferrets, and—in turn—the Avatar. Lei jumped to her feet as she looked around in horror. A few moments passed before she thought to kick off her boots and scope the area with seismic sense. She needed to make sure the other officers survived the attack.

Every Elite officer was down around the arena, but they were still breathing—what she had to focus on now were the assailants coming toward the crowd. Her eyes flashed open as she glanced to her group. Haku furrowed his brows as the metalbender handed him her shoes, but before she could take further action, the masked attackers moved to keep the crowd hostage, wielding strange electrified gloves. Screams rang out through the arena as the rest of the audience caught on.

Amon and his officers rose from the center of the field and the Wolfbats turned in horror. They fought back as the Equalist leader advanced, but were effortlessly taken out by his henchmen, their wrists and ankles tied by ropes.

The Equalist in front of Lei's section glanced back to the stage. She had to do something!

Tahno was forced to his knees, his arms held apart as Amon stood menacingly in front of him.

Lei leaned in toward Haku and instructed in a low voice, "If you find an opening to get out, take the way we came in, but hang a right just before the main exit. You'll be able to escape unseen from there. Drag Jin if you need to—just get out safely."

He hesitated for a moment before putting a hand on hers. "Be careful."

She nodded and launched herself over the people in front of her, toward the Equalist threatening the section. Mid-jump, she sent a barrage of needles at Amon. He effortlessly dodged them all as she landed on the railing. The masked man faced Lei for a few moments before returning to business. She narrowed her eyes and glanced back just in time to dodge the incoming attack from the Equalist, swinging under the railing and kicking him in the jaw, knocking him over the edge and into the water below.

The Equalists from the two nearest sections rushed the metalbender on either side as Amon finished the job and pushed the Wolfbats into the pool. He calmly took the microphone and commented on how desperate the benders were to save such bullies like themselves.

Lei gripped the railing as she accused, "Coward!"

Amon moved into his full warning speech as both Equalists were upon her. Lei narrowly avoided their attacks by pressing against the railing. As their hands passed her face, she grabbed an arm and forced the attackers together. They didn't electrocute each other, but the force was enough to daze them for a moment.

No matter her success, more Equalists kept piling in. Lei fought back as hard as she could, yet she knew she wouldn't make it out of this one—but this whole quarter of the audience would. Time slowed as she locked eyes with Haku and glanced to the exit. He tensed and nodded slightly before taking charge and getting everyone in the section to escape.

Lei couldn't bear to look at Jin as the Equalists closed the gap over their fallen comrades. They overwhelmed her, landing multiple gloves on her person. She let out a primal scream as electricity surged through her body, burning her nerves until she blacked out.

-:-

The building had fully evacuated after the explosion, but one man raced inside against the tides as soon as his paralysis faded. Taifeng's footsteps echoed in the hallways as he ran to Lei's last known location. He skidded on the marble floors as he made a sharp turn into the seating area and frantically glanced around.

 _"Lei!"_ His voice echoed through the empty arena with no answer.

He tensed and scoured the bleachers until he spotted a body lying near the railing.

His eyes went wide as he let out a breathless, "No…"

Before he could think, he was rushing across the seats, barely keeping up until he dropped to the floor beside her. The tips of her long hair were singed, a spot on her sleeve was charred, and she had a burn mark on her bare foot. He hesitated as he reached out before pulling her limp body into his trembling arms. Taifeng gently pressed his fingers to Lei's neck, holding his breath until he felt the beat of her pulse.

She was still alive.

She wasn't killed like her father was.

"Y-You idiot," he whispered, aimed at more than just one, as he watched droplets fall to her cheek.

Taking a deep breath and holding in his bursting emotions, the nonbender wiped his eyes and stuck his other arm beneath his best friend's legs before lifting her up and carrying her out of the building.

-:-

Lei groaned, her body aching as she slowly opened her eyes and rolled onto her side. As she looked around, she found herself lying on a mat in a the corner of a large tent somewhere. Taifeng was sitting nearby with his arms folded and his eyes narrowed at the ground. The brunette furrowed her eyebrows for a moment before she flashed to a fuzzy memory of the older teen carrying her, presumably away from the arena.

As her focus returned to the present, she held her head and weakly pushed herself into a sitting position. Her best friend simply closed his eyes and pursed his lips as he took a deep breath, refusing to look up. She opened her mouth to speak, but stopped as someone else approached.

Her eyes went wide as they landed on the chief.

Lin's arms were folded as she told them, "I heard what happened, Lei. You acted like a true officer out there: you were quick, decisive, and did everything in your power to protect the people when the rest of us couldn't. You reminded me of Shang."

Tears pricked in the corners of her eyes as she proudly beamed. "Thank you."

To the side, Taifeng tightened his grip on his arms.

Lin put a hand on her hip as she got to the point. "Republic City is at war—we'll need as much help as we can get to stop these Equalists. I'm letting you back into the program as soon as you heal."

"Yes!" Lei pumped her fist in the air. "You won't regret this, Chief!"

After the chief left, Lei excitedly turned to Taifeng, "You were right!"

He opened his eyes and scoffed.

She narrowed her eyes and leaned back. "What's your problem?"

"I can't believe how stupid you were!" he burst, throwing his arms up. "You _knew_ they could electrocute you, but you _still_ had to go and play the hero."

She furrowed her eyebrows. "I had to do _something!"_

"You should've at least _tried_ to think it through before jumping out there and fighting the Equalists alone!"

Green eyes glared at blue as she snapped, "I was _trying_ to stop Amon from taking their bending, and when that didn't work, I was causing a distraction for the others!"

"You could've done that without almost _sacrificing_ yourself like an _idiot!"_ he roared.

She scowled. "Well, what would you have done, Mister 'High and Mighty'?"

He clawed at his hair. "I would've _waited_ and got people out when it was _actually safe!"_

She narrowed her eyes. "Waiting wasn't an option."

 _"It always is!"_ Taifeng's voice was shaking as he confessed, "I ran inside when I saw Jin out there without you, and when I found you unconscious like that, _I thought you were dead."_

Lei's shoulders drooped as she knitted her brows together. "Taifeng…"

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before forcing a smile to hide his anguish.

The older teen ruffled her hair, his voice hoarse. "You have to be more careful."

She frowned and reached out, but he pulled away.

"I'm still on-duty. I have to go."

He turned and left without further explanation. Haku passed by the nonbender, tossing a curious glance over his shoulder before making his way to Lei. She weakly smiled and waved as he bridged the gap between them. The waterbender sat down in front of her and gently pulled her feet into his lap before drawing water from the pouch on his shoulder and onto his hands.

He explained, "My mother is having me heal smaller injuries so she and the other professionals can focus on the more advanced cases."

The brunette only nodded. "Thanks..."

He glanced away, his cheeks growing darker. "Anything for you."

Lei tensed as the water enveloped her burned foot, but along with the telltale glow and hum of his healing hands came the immediate soothing feeling. Releasing a breath, she relaxed, but frowned and looked to the side.

 _"Lei!"_ Jin's strained voice silenced him as Lei watched her stomp over. "Never do that again." Tears streamed down her face. "Don't you _ever_ do that to me again!"

The metalbender furrowed her eyebrows as she argued, "That's a promise I can't make. My job is dangerous, Jin, and you have to accept that. Someone has to protect Republic City from people like them."

"Enough, both of you!" their mother's voice commanded as she returned.

Lei furrowed her brows before realizing that she was likely there with the rest of the medical staff.

Ping took her eldest daughter's hand and stroked her arm. "Jin, sweetheart, you need to rest. You're still in shock. Everything's going to be okay."

She took a deep breath and nodded.

"Tahno was asking for you," Ping softly told her. "Do you want to see him? I can ask him to wait too."

Jin wiped her eyes and sniffled. "No, I need to see him."

Ping led her away as Lei released an exasperated groan. Haku frowned slightly as he glanced between his neighbors.

He returned the water to its pouch and started to wrap his patient's feet. "I did what I could, but your feet will be sore the next few days. Try to stay off them as much as you can." As he finished, he asked, "Do you have any feeling in your toes?"

Lei pursed her lips as she assessed the damage. "No… Not a lot, anyway."

"I expected as much." His gaze trailed downward again as he wrapped his warm hands around the tips of her feet, eliciting an involuntary wince from her at the sudden heat. "With winter so near and being just off the bay, the temperatures are very low. You're at a greater risk for frost bite in this kind of environment."

She let out a sigh. "Yeah… They should really make shoes for the everyday metalbender—with those retractable soles like our uniforms. It'd be a lot easier than taking off my shoes every time something happens when I'm off-duty."

Haku nodded slightly, and a silence swallowed the pair for a while, neither seeming particularly willing to talk.

"Lei... are you alright?"

She let out a huff. "First Taifeng and now Jin. Why can't they understand why I did it? And, sure, it sorta makes sense that Jin wouldn't with what happened to our dad, but it's so weird that Taifeng got so touchy about it." She sighed. "I've never seen him like this."

He waited a few moments before offering, "While I don't know Taifeng, by the way you speak of him, it's likely that he's just worried for you and is having trouble coping with it. Truth be told, I often find myself worrying about you as well."

Lei frowned. "Well, _you_ understand, right? I mean, you wouldn't have led the others out otherwise."

Haku gazed into her eyes, his soft blue irises somewhat sad as he explained, "In my studies, the best course of action is that which benefits the many over the few. I feared what could happen to you, but I knew that I couldn't let your fate—whatever should happen—be in vain..." He looked down. "Even then, it hurt so much to leave you behind. If something worse had happened to you... I don't know if I could cope with my decision."

The pair fell silent again as Lei frowned and furrowed her eyebrows, lost in thought.

* * *

 **Review Response:**

 ** _Wanderstar:_ Lin agrees with you on Lei deserving to come back (as you can now see,) but this won't be the last of her troubles (where would all the fun be without it?) And you may be right in some sense regarding romance. You'll have to find out ;D (In the far future, though. This book focuses on Lei's personal growth more than anything, but Book 2 onward will answer your questions~!)**


	7. Demons

-:-

* * *

 **Book 1: Redemption  
Chapter 6: Demons**

* * *

The sun barely peeked through the curtains in Tahno's house as he remained still on his seat, his head hung and his posture slouched. Jin frowned as she stepped into the darkness, green eyes landing on her boyfriend. He had deep bags under his eyes and his hair was loosely drooping over the side of his face—he stopped styling it after Amon took his bending away last week.

She took a deep breath to quell her trembling fingers before kneeling beside him and gently placing her hands on his.

With a soft voice from years of practice, she asked, "Do you want to see Nanuq? She's one of the best healers in the city."

He roughly pulled away and stood. "It doesn't matter!" His voice cracked. "I've been to _dozens_ of healers already and _none of them_ brought my bending back!"

Jin slowly rose to her feet, pressing her lips together as she held her tongue. When Tahno looked up and took in her expression, his shoulders fell again.

The former waterbender grew quiet. "I'm sorry…"

His girlfriend stepped forward and took his hand while she tenderly cupped his cheek. He leaned into her touch as he closed his eyes and put his free hand over hers.

Jin placed a chaste kiss on his lips and promised, "I'll be with you every step of the way, no matter how long it takes to get your bending back."

Tahno weakly smiled before turning to the couch. "You don't have to sleep out here, you know."

She softly squeezed his hand before glancing to the clock. "We should head to the police station to give our eyewitness reports. Beifong will probably want to talk to you for a while."

He nodded. "Maybe… after that, we can see Nanuq."

With that, Jin took his hand and led him outside.

-:-

Clouds overshadowed the evening sky, bringing an early night as Taifeng returned to his childhood home. The officer was sitting at the dinner table when his mother walked in with the final dish of the meal. Akemi was a petite woman of mixed Fire Nation and Water Tribe descent, passing her smooth black hair and tan skin onto her only son. In truth, Taifeng resembled his mother far more than his father, who was missing from the dinner table due to an overtime shift searching for Equalists.

All was calm as they ate before Akemi confessed, "Your father and I miss your company… You're always welcome home to visit us."

The young man glanced away and nodded.

She hesitated before asking, "How have you been?"

He shrugged. "I'm okay."

His mother frowned slightly. "Have you been spending any time with your friends?"

Taifeng absentmindedly pushed his food around his plate as he looked away. "Everyone's busy. Shirou's working overtime at the power plant to make rent, and Yazhu just moved to Yu Dao for an apprenticeship."

Her voice was soft as she asked, "What about Ming?"

He paused and stared at his mother with slightly furrowed eyebrows. "I haven't talked to her in years."

Akemi lowered her hand to the table. "Is it still bothering you?"

A mildly-amused snort hit her ears as her son stared back at her. "Mom, it's been _three years_ since we broke up. It stopped bothering me a long time ago."

She fell silent and turned her gaze to her plate before looking up with a smile. "What about Lei? Have you gone dancing lately?"

He frowned as he started to pick at his meal. "No. She's been too busy trying to make up for lost time at work."

Akemi fell silent for a few minutes. When the meal was close to an end, she brought up, "Your father told me that you've been working more often." He glanced away as she continued, "He thinks that you're avoiding him."

The teen tensed and averted his gaze, his speech rapid. "I'm not avoiding him. I'm just busy."

She frowned. "I can't fix the problem if I don't know what's wrong… I know that you've been angry at your father for some time now—I know that's why you moved out—but you need to open up about it. I don't want to see you so miserable all the time."

He squeezed his eyes shut, pulling his shoulders inward as he snapped, "It's my own stupid problem, not what anyone else is doing!"

Akemi furrowed her eyebrows, her tone stern. "There's no reason to yell at me, Taifeng."

His shoulders drooped narrowed his eyes, his voice quiet. "I'm sorry… There's nothing you or Dad can do because you're not doing anything wrong. I'm just being an idiot."

She thought for a moment. "Having feelings doesn't make you an idiot, honey." There was a long silence before she sighed. "I know you're not ready to talk about it now, but your father and I will be here, ready to listen when you are."

He tightened his lips into a thin line and looked away.

-:-

Tips had been coming in left and right ever since the attack on the arena, but none had proved fruitful so far. Between that and the events at the arena three weeks ago, Tarrlok had been calling for Chief Beifong to be replaced. Still, the Elite were investigating everything they heard. The most recent was anonymous intel against Lau Gan-Lan, head of Cabbage Corp.

As Lei followed Captain Lee into the warehouse, he turned to her. "Cadet, stay by my side until we leave. If this really is an Equalist warehouse, there could be traps."

She groaned. "We've had so many false leads. This one probably is too."

He frowned as he turned to her fully. "We treat every situation as if something will happen, otherwise you won't be prepared in the event of an attack. Now, follow my orders."

She nodded. "Yes, sir."

He moved forward, but glanced back to make sure she was coming. Lei frowned. It was clear that he didn't trust her anymore.

The team spread out in pairs inside the building before starting to go through crates. The brunette followed Lee to a stack near the wall, sensing the nails in the wood with her bending. After stopping not far from one another, they began unpacking the boxes.

The first one contained construction tools. Lee glanced over his shoulder as his student moved a few steps away. Upon opening the crate, she found it filled to the brim with Equalist posters.

She grinned and held up a flyer. "Captain, look!"

Her mentor came over and nodded as he peered into the open box. "Good work, Cadet."

The search continued as the team recovered troves of Equalist weapons and propaganda. Lee had Lei follow him into the office, where Lau Gan-Lan was sitting. The captain read his rights as she handcuffed the business leader.

They led him outside as he screamed, "This is an outrage. _I'm innocent!"_

-:-

Later in the week, while the Cabbage Corp investigation was ongoing, Korra turned in a tip on Hiroshi Sato—Lau Gan-Lan's business rival. When the team checked his home, the legendary inventor claimed that the Avatar misheard his words. That with his rival gone, it was time to "strike" the market with a new line of vehicles. He even offered for the Elite to search all his warehouses to prove his innocence. But with both teams of the Elite busy, a man far downtown carried out the next phase of his plan…

Viper groggily opened his eyes to find himself strapped to a chair with metal bonds around his ankles, wrists, and forehead, forcing him to look ahead. He looked up and was greeted with the sight of a masked man—his captor. Two hollow eyes with haunting red irises and an eerie grin were the only things staring back at him on that white mask.

He furrowed his eyebrows and clenched his fists. "You better let me outta here before my boys come for you."

The masked man laughed. "Oh, you expect me to believe that with your gang all hiding away from the Equalists, they'll somehow find me and take me out? _I don't think so._ You're in my world now, not your world."

Viper narrowed his eyes. "Who are you?"

He laughed. "Viper. Wan Shi Tong. Go ahead and pick one—though, one newspaper has taken to calling me 'the Phantom.' I quite like that one: it's ominous and threatening. I do so hope it catches on."

The captive man scowled. "How did you knock me out? I didn't feel anything."

"Oh, did you like that? It's my own invention," the Phantom cooed. "I reengineered shirshu toxins into a vapor form. Without any pinpricks or devices left behind, there is no way to trace it—unlike the case with the darts your Triple Threats sell on the black market."

The waterbender grit his teeth as he snarled, "What do you want from me?"

The Phantom laughed darkly as a candle began to circle him on a floating platform. "You have much power now that you're the leader of your little gang... You are about to become my trump card."

Viper's pupils dilated.

-:-

The following week at police headquarters, Lin had just returned with Avatar Korra and Councilman Tenzin. With Saikhan's team busy patrolling, she enlisted Lee's for a last-minute raid. While preparing, Lei passed by Taifeng in the hallway.

He stopped with a hand on his hip. "What's the hurry?"

"Beifong just got a promising tip," she explained. "Supposedly, there's a secret warehouse under the Sato mansion, where Hiroshi is making a new weapon for Amon." She grinned widely as she added, "I can't wait to go in and stop them!"

He scoffed and turned away.

As he started to walk off, Lei scowled. "What's your problem? You've been like this ever since the attack on the arena. Why are you so mad at me for doing what's right?!"

He clenched his fists to the point of shaking before roaring, "You act like you're invincible, but you're at a huge risk against the Equalists! If you wanna keep acting like this and get yourselves killed, then _fine."_

She frowned, taken aback. "That's not all… is it?"

He tensed and turned away. "Forget it."

As he walked away, she released a sigh and headed up to the airship. The sky was dark, clouds hiding the moon and stars as they made their way to the Sato Estate for a second time. Near the front of the ship, Lin, Korra, and Tenzin were gathered.

Once the team arrived, they went inside and confronted Asami, Bolin, and Mako—Hiroshi nowhere to be seen. His daughter was unpleasant in tone—for understandable reasons—but complied and informed them that he was in his workshop behind the house.

Out back, Lei and the officers busted through the doors.

With no one else there, Asami called out, "Dad? Hello?"

As Lei looked around the shed, she couldn't help the nagging feeling in the back of her mind. "The ground feels almost... _hollow_ somehow…"

Captain Lee approached Lin. "Chief, the estate's been secured. No one has left the workshop since we arrived."

She glanced to Lei. "Perhaps we just couldn't see him leaving."

Walking to the center of the room, Lin raised her foot and slammed it against the metal floor, surveying the area with seismic sense.

When she stood, she announced, "There's a tunnel beneath the workshop running deep into the mountainside." She nodded to the youngest. "Good catch, Cadet."

Asami furrowed her eyebrows, tone clearly annoyed. _"What?_ There's _no_ tunnel."

Lin turned and removed the metal floor covering the entrance, revealing a large elevator down the passageway.

Bolin leaned in toward Asami and whispered, "Do you think your dad knows about this tunnel?"

She was distraught as she stared deep into the hole. "I don't understand… There must be an explanation."

Korra's gaze softened. "Maybe you don't know everything about your father. I'm sorry…"

Lin put her arms behind her back. "Officers, into the tunnel. Be cautious."

They all snapped to a salute and marched down. Officer Song stayed to keep an eye on Mako, Bolin, and Asami while the rest of them investigated. Korra was the last to board the elevator, casting her gaze back to the trio. Her eyes stayed on Mako for a moment before she glanced to Asami, her shoulders drooping.

Only Tenzin, Korra, Lin, Lee, four officers, and Lei were making the trek, with the rest of Lee's team watching the perimeter. Everyone was silent as the cart carried them down. Korra was gripping the railing as she looked down, sadness in her eye. Breaks began to creak as the elevator approached a landing pad. Lei clenched her fists, ready to fight again and—this time—stop them for good.

The cart grinded to a halt at the platform and they all made their way inside in a protective formation around Lin, Korra, and Tenzin. Passing through the entrance revealed a massive room with a high ceiling and banners of Amon's face plastered along the beams.

Lin commented, "Not your average backyard workshop."

As the group pressed forward, they came to an area lined with towering metal suits.

Korra stared up at them. "And I'm guessing _those_ are the new weapons."

Everyone paused for a moment as the officers visually scanned the area.

"Hiroshi was lying alright," Tenzin began, "but where is he?"

A wall shot up behind them, trapping the group as the lights went dim. Breaking formation, Lei ran up and tried to move the wall with the chief.

Hiroshi's voice rang out, "I'm afraid you won't be able to metalbend _that_ wall, Chief Beifong." Blinding lights appeared around the perimeter, so the benders shielded their eyes. "It's solid platinum."

The suits turned on and rolled toward the group, surrounding everyone as he added, "My mecha tanks are platinum as well. Not even your renowned _mother_ could bend a metal so pure."

Korra narrowed her eyes. "Hiroshi, I _knew_ you were a lying, no-good Equalist. _Come out here_ and—"

"And do what, young Avatar? Face the wrath of your bending?" he asked. "No. I think I'll fight from inside here where my odds are a little more… _equal."_

Lin clenched her fists. "That source was a setup. You lured us down here!"

"Guilty as charged," he admitted as the mecha tanks closed in on their prey.

Lei immediately ran to the nearest tank and threw a chunk of the ground at its head. It listed back, but not enough to fall. Narrowing her eyes, she compressed what remained of the boulder into a stone. She shot her hand forward, crumbling the earth into high-velocity projectiles at her target. It made dents in the armor and managed to shatter the glass around the cockpit. She smirked as she advanced again.

The other officers were slowing down two mechas—two per tank, holding them back with their cables. Lee was nearby, attacking an Equalist from afar, keeping him at bay. There was an explosion to the side, and Lei turned to see Lin jumping away from the destroyed weapon.

And just as she thought they were starting to get the upper hand, four screams rang out from behind her. The officers dropped to the ground, sparks flying from their armor. Lin was flung across the room and slammed to the ground, unmoving.

Three Equalists moved in on Lei and Captain Lee while the others went after Korra and Tenzin. The cadet ran to attack the nearest mecha. She had it on the run, but saw something in the corner of her eye. Green eyes glanced back just in time to see Captain Lee jump in and take the hit, cables wrapping around him as he was electrocuted.

Her eyes widened. _"Captain!"_

She tried to rush to his aid, but was forced back by two Equalists. Korra was slammed against the wall on the far side, near Lin. Lei managed to attack and evade, but she found herself being pushed into that same corner—three mechas on one.

As she made a last-ditch attempt to knock them back, one shot a disk at her. Its wires extended and trapped her arms to her armored body. Her eyes widened as she was electrocuted—her body feeling like it was on fire as she spasmed and screamed.

She blacked out before she even hit the ground.

It wasn't long before Tenzin was taken out too. With no one left standing, Hiroshi emerged from the suit.

"Well, I'd say that was a near flawless test run," he declared before turning to his underlings. "Load everyone into the transports and deliver them to Amon!"

As the officers were being carried away, a hole quietly opened in the ground. The ferret brothers peeked out, their eyes wide when they saw what was going on.

All Bolin could muster was a simple, "Oh, no…"

Mako furrowed his eyebrows and whispered, "Korra was right. We've gotta do something quick."

Quietly, they followed the wall to those who hadn't been taken yet, untangling Lei and Tenzin from the wires. Mako pulled Korra onto his back and grabbed Lei by the arm while Bolin took Tenzin and Lin.

As they started to walk away, Hiroshi warned, "Not so fast, boys."

They froze and turned to see him threatening them with two electrified gloves. The lieutenant was just beside him with his batons at the ready.

Bolin dropped the chief and gestured with Tenzin's arms. "Hello, Mr. Sato! _Wow!_ What a really swell, scary factory you have here under your giant mansion."

Mako scowled. "Sponsoring our team. Supporting the Avatar. It was all just a big cover."

"Yes," Hiroshi admitted. "And the worst part was watching my daughter traipse around with a firebending _street rat_ like you."

As the Equalists stepped closer, a voice called out from behind them. "Dad, stop!"

He whipped around to see Asami standing there, distraught.

She glanced down, her voice soft. "Why?"

"Sweetie… I wanted to keep you out of this for as long as I could," he confessed. "But now that you know the truth, please… forgive me." Korra weakly looked up over Mako's shoulder as Hiroshi continued, "These people… These _benders_ … They took away your mother—the love of my life. They've _ruined_ the world. But with Amon, we can fix it."

Asami's eyes widened in horror before she grit her teeth and looked down.

"We can build a perfect world _together,"_ her father pleaded. "We can help people like us _everywhere."_ He took off a glove and held it out. "Join me, Asami."

She was quiet for a while before her body tensed, her brows pinching downward. Clenching her fists, she stepped forward, her hand shaking as she hesitatingly grasped the weapon and slipped it on. The nonbender stared at her palm for a few moments before closing her eyes.

Korra and Mako watched on as he whispered, "No…"

Asami opened her eyes. "I love you, Dad."

She electrocuted him before taking down the lieutenant in the same way. The others watched on in shock, with Korra, Lin, and Tenzin standing on their own now.

As the remaining mecha suits turned toward the group, Mako pulled Lei onto his shoulder. "Let's get outta here!"

-:-

It was late at night as Lei's mother waited around the foyer. Just what was taking her daughter so long to get home? A knock at the door drew her attention. She rose and opened it, revealing Lin Beifong—to her surprise—and a few people behind her. Ping's heart stopped when she noticed the set of armor in Lin's arms.

The chief frowned. "Ping… I'm sorry."

Tears welled up in her eyes. "Where is she?"

Lin moved aside as Korra stepped in with Lei limp in her arms. "I can still help her. Do you have a bathtub?"

Ping led them inside and filled the tub. The Avatar carefully placed the cadet in the water, using Katara's method of healing back and forth. Eventually, she let out a quiet groan and opened her eyes slightly.

Lei glanced around the room, her brows furrowed as she weakly asked, "Where…?"

Her eyes closed again before she could finish, and her mother started crying. Lin frowned and put a hand on her shoulder.

Ping sniffled as she tried to control herself. "I know she's an adult and can make her own decisions now, but… I just hate that she's taking the same path as Shang. There are times when I see so much of him in her—it usually makes things easier, but not when it's like this…"

"I'm sorry." Lin told her as she retracted her hand. "I'll put her on medical leave before I resign tomorrow. She needs to rest."

* * *

 _ **Author's Notes:**_ **By the way, I do have some commissioned art on the way for the three main OCs of the story (being Lei, Taifeng, and Haku.) I'll post links to the artists' posts when they're done for anyone interested** **—** **it won't be for a while, though. I'll also have it up when I post this story on Wattpad (under CloudyLuminosity) since they allow art with each chapter and within them rather than just the cover.**

 **Review Response:**

 _ **Wanderstar:**_ **Thank you! As you might guess, it's going to be a fairly action-backed bunch of chapters coming up. While Jin is a chi-blocker, she's not much of a teacher, and (as you saw in this first scene) she has other methods to console her grieving boyfriend. We'll see her in action in due time, though. :)**

 ** _Guest:_ Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it :)**


	8. Hurt

_**Author's**_ **Notes: So, you should never trust me if I comment on romance before the first few chapters are out if there are multiple options, because I forget that I always end up changing my initial decision after getting to know the characters more. In other news, the romance is _actually_ planned out now xD**

 **Review** **Responses:**

 _ **Wanderstar:**_ **Thank you! I'm glad you liked that scene. And you'll get more action soon ;D**

 _ **Guest:**_ **I'm glad you liked it! Taifeng isn't gay, but I can definitely see why his behavior would make you think that, especially during his conversation with his mother. You'll get the true context for that very soon, though... On a related tangent, I was surprised to realize that none of my characters ended up LGBTQ in this story, especially considering that half of my major characters were in my last one.**

* * *

 **Book 1: Redemption  
Chapter 7: Hurt**

* * *

When Lei finally woke up, her mother told her everything that happened. Even being on medical leave didn't faze the cadet this time. She didn't even notice the days pass by as she hid away in her room. The sun had long gone down on that winter's day as the brunette laid on her side, eyes glued to the armor mocking her from across the room. Its once-pristine shine was gone, now replaced with scuffs and dark spots where the electrified wires had wrapped around her body.

She shut her eyes and pressed her lips together as her stomach churned. Withholding a sigh, she carefully rolled over, facing her back to the metal that failed to protect her. Even then, she knew it wasn't to blame. Lee had been trying to teach her this whole time to work as a team and watch out for her comrades. It was her selfishness that brought them down. Constant reliving of those moments reminded her daily.

There was a soft knock at the door, but the bender remained unmoving.

Light peeked into her dark room followed by a silhouette as Haku called out, "Lei?"

As light fully flooded the room, she closed her eyes halfway and tilted her face further toward the mattress. Her neighbor crouched in front of her and put a hand on hers, drawing green eyes to meet his deep blue ones.

He couldn't help his soft frown as he told her, "Your mother is preparing dinner. It's time for a healing session."

Taking a deep breath, Lei weakly pushed her aching body up. She turned and sat on the center of the bed, facing the headboard as she took off her shirt, exposing her bare skin to the healer. He took his place behind her as he let the cool water cover the injuries around her upper back.

Meekly placing her hands in her lap, the metalbender looked down at the lightning-like burns around her arms—concentrated where the wires had wrapped around her, but spreading out several inches on either side. Her chest hurt slightly as Haku moved to her arms, but she managed to keep her pain hidden as far as she was aware. When Nanuq returned from the hospital, she would heal what was beneath Lei's bra. She didn't care how long it would take her older neighbor to return—truth be told, the young woman couldn't remember time passing by in the past week or so… however long it had really been.

Haku wrapped her injuries when the healing session was over, then the two of them joined Lei's mother and—surprisingly—Jin and Tahno at the dinner table. All was silent for a while until Ping turned to Tahno.

"It's good to see you again," she began. "How have you been coping?"

He sighed, but smiled slightly. "It's been rough… but Jin has been making it easier. I'm really not sure if I would be able to get through this without her."

Jin smiled back at her boyfriend and gently squeezed his hand.

Ping turned to her eldest daughter. "Are you going back to Tahno's place tonight?"

"Yeah. Actually…" She placed her utensils down and nervously smiled at him. "We've been talking, and… I'm going to fully move in next month."

Ping smiled. "That's wonderful, sweetheart."

Lei tuned out the conversation as she mindlessly picked at her mostly untouched meal. Haku remained silent, quietly watching the brunette until she decided that she was done. As she stood to wash her plate, he followed.

The waterbender gently offered, "Please, I can take it. You should rest."

She nodded quietly and held it out for him. He took the dish and brought it to the sink while Lei remained chained where she stood, unable to smile.

Suddenly, everything went black as the hum of flowing electricity stopped. Ping pulled out a flashlight as everyone moved to the windows—the whole neighborhood's power was out.

Haku furrowed his eyebrows. "The forecast didn't predict a storm today…"

The battery-powered police scanner rang out from within Lei's room. _"All available units please respond to the fifty-six-hundredth block of Dragon Flats Borough. Equalists have taken to the streets. Consider them armed and dangerous. Proceed with caution."_

The cadet narrowed her eyes. That couldn't be right—she would have heard them…

The five of them went outside to investigate, following the peaceful crowd to the only lit road in the vicinity. Barricades separated them from the Elite officers on the other side, with Councilman Tarrlok off to the side as he supervised. Lei tensed as she recognized the formation.

Chief Saikhan was standing on the roof of a police car as he called out through a megaphone, "All nonbenders: return to your homes immediately!"

"Yeah, as soon as you turn our power back on!"

The crowd erupted into cries to return their rights.

Even Jin joined in. "You can't treat us like this!"

Lei roughly pulled her sister back. "Don't draw attention to yourself."

"What?"

"Go home," Lei instructed the group. "This is the formation for mass arrests."

Tahno furrowed his eyebrows as he turned to his girlfriend, who glanced between Lei and Tarrlok before nodding. They paused by Ping, whose shoulders drooped as she frowned.

With a sigh, she submitted. "Please, be careful, Lei."

"I will," her youngest assured her.

As they quickly headed home, their neighbor remained.

The earthbender took an unusually stern tone. "Haku, you need to leave."

He put a clenched fist in his palm as he suggested, "We should try negotiating with them."

She frowned as she nervously glanced over her shoulder. "It's too late if they're in this formation already. You need to go home before it gets worse. I'll try to do what I can in the meantime."

His shoulders slumped and his gaze fell before he took a step forward and took her hands. "Please, Lei... be careful, and try to take the path of diplomacy."

She looked back again as she pulled away, her speech rapid. "I'll try. I promise. Now, please, just go!"

Haku hesitated a moment before backing away. Weaving through the crowd, Lei made her way to the barriers to confront Tarrlok and found Korra and her friends trying to do the same. She raised her hands to bend the barricade out of her way, but stopped herself. Narrowing her eyes, she pulled her arms to her sides.

 _"…They_ are the _enemy!"_ the councilman declared. "Round up all these Equalists!"

Saikhan's team moved toward the crowd.

Lei tensed and called out, "You can't do this, Tarrlok! This is against the Forty-Second law of the United Republic's Rights Concord, subsection—"

He smirked. "Not anymore—and I'm _shocked_ that the daughter of such a well-known partner of justice would defend these _terrorists."_

She clenched her fists and roared, "You're targeting a bunch of normal people. If you want to stop the Equalists, then you have to start by not acting like the kind of benders they fight against!"

He narrowed his eyes and accused, "The Equalists are infiltrating the police too. She's an accessory—arrest her!"

 _"What?!"_

Two officers exchanged glances before grabbing the cadet from behind.

The teen scowled as she tried to worm her way out of their grasps. "You have no right to do this!"

More officers turned on her until she was fully apprehended.

-:-

The Republic City Police only had one wooden cell for metalbenders since most of those trained in the art entered the force—and Lei was its first major occupant. Even with the precautions to take away her metal surroundings, she was strapped in a full-body straitjacket with platinum latches that she couldn't bend. She had been there all night, left to her thoughts as she laid on the mattress pad in the corner of the room.

She never should have challenged him. All her actions did was bring more grief to her family. Still, she couldn't just stand there and do nothing.

A sigh pushed through her lungs as she thought back to her neighbor, hoping that he wouldn't blame himself for her arrest.

With nothing to do, Lei had started to drift off again when the door quietly opened, revealing Taifeng. She could just make out his deep frown as he silently closed the door behind him. She furrowed her eyebrows and tilted her head. What was he doing there?

He came close, gritting his teeth as he hissed, "It's your fault that my Dad's gone. I _know_ he took a hit for you. You're _both_ idiots!" He winced and glanced over his shoulder before lowering his volume to a stage whisper. "Why didn't you back out when you could? That other earthbender got _in_ there, so you all could've gotten out."

Shrinking back, she averted her gaze, her voice hoarse. "I know. I'm sorry… This is all my fault." Closing her eyes, she added, "I wish they took me instead…"

He recoiled. "What? Don't— Don't say that!"

She pinched her eyebrows together as she looked back up at him, her lips pressed together. "What do you want with me? You get mad at me for screwing up, but you get angrier when I agree with you."

He pinched the bridge of his nose to calm himself. "Look, I'm only here because you're gonna help me find my Dad."

Lei frowned. "Why would you come to me? I'm in jail—you'd be risking your job."

He grabbed her collar and lifted her so only her feet were touching the wooden floor as he hissed, "I can't track him the easy way because _I'm not a bender!_ I need seismic sense to find him, and no one else around here would be crazy enough to help me."

Taifeng was too lost in the heat of the moment to notice the door open behind him as another familiar face stepped in. Lei furrowed her eyebrows as she glanced between her friend and the newcomer.

Lin folded her arms, "What the flameo is going on in here?"

Taifeng tensed and glanced back as he gently released his friend. "Nothing... Why are you here? I thought you resigned."

The ex-chief approached them, revealing Mako, Bolin, and Asami standing in the hallway as she explained, "Korra's in trouble. Amon captured her... You kids shouldn't be locked up in here anyway."

Mako's eyes went wide and Asami looked equally distraught as he muttered, "No… No, she can't be gone."

Lin bent down and let Lei out of her restraints. Taifeng glanced over his shoulder, sparing the teen a long gaze until he looked down with pursed lips.

After a few moments, he declared, "I'm coming too."

As Lei stood, Lin nodded. "Come on. We have an Avatar to rescue."

-:-

Lei glanced over her shoulder as Lin boldly led them into Councilman Tenzin's office.

His eyes went wide as he nervously told the person on the other line, "I have to go… Call me back the _minute_ you hear anything." He hung up and immediately stood. "Lin? Wh-What are— What are you— You should be in the hospital!" He turned and pointed to the group of teens. "And you four—you should be in prison!"

Lin put her hands on her hips. "I figured you could use our help finding Korra."

Mako stepped forward. "Do you have any leads?"

Tenzin walked around desk as he explained, "I've been on the phone all morning, but nothing yet."

"We need Naga," the firebender suggested. "She can track Korra."

The airbending master looked down. "I'm afraid her polar bear dog is missing as well."

"Then where do we start?" Bolin asked.

Lei pursed her lips as she mentally reviewed the locations of each Equalist sighting throughout the years. There were three main hotspots, each about a five-block radius, and all over the city.

She opened her eyes as she announced her findings, adding, "They must be using the underground tunnel system to get around. Those places are our best bets at finding the entrances."

Mako's eyes went wide. "That's where we saw the truck that took Bolin. Come on, we should start looking there."

As Bolin and Asami followed the firebender, Lin turned to Tenzin. "Wherever Amon's keeping Korra, I bet that's where my officers are too."

Taifeng's back was to them as he clenched his fists, and set off after Team Avatar.

-:-

Once they were there, the rescue team found the entrance and started making their way into the tunnels, following Mako's lead at he lit the way and picked a random path. Asami was hanging back as she quietly talked to Bolin. Taifeng was off to the side of the group, body tense as he silently pressed forward. Lei hesitated as she felt a strange sensation in the wall to her right.

She paused and scrutinized the wall. There were odd scuff marks in perfect lines in a square portion of the steel. She stepped closer for further examination, but the buzz of engines echoed through the tunnels as headlights appeared from around the bend. The group hid behind a support wall as Equalists sped down the road, watching as a piece of the wall opened to let them through. It quickly shut as the motorcycles disappeared behind it.

The metalbenders immediately ran to the wall and placed their hands on it, feeling what laid behind it. Lin managed to locate the locking mechanism first, and she and Lei raised the door.

Once down the tunnel, everyone was peeking around a corner of the Equalist hideout as a tram car arrived from one of the paths.

The woman riding it jumped off and informed the man, "Everything was delivered to the prison, sir."

As they walked off, Tenzin pointed out, "That's where they must be keeping Korra."

"…and my father," Taifeng grumbled.

"We need to get down that tunnel," Lin announced.

She signaled all-clear and everyone boarded the tram. Asami quickly figured it out and sent the machine forward. Lin took out chi-blockers standing at the end of the path, leaving them tied up as the team disembarked.

The ex-chief turned to Bolin and Asami. "You two, keep an eye on them." She closed her eyes and scanned the prison with seismic sense. "My officers are inside."

"What about Korra?" Mako asked.

"I don't see her yet," she told him before turning to the cadet. "Lei, why don't you try?"

She raised an eyebrow. _"Me?_ I mean, I'll _try,_ but I don't think I'll be able to find anything you can't."

Tenzin was quiet as he stroked his beard and carefully watched the young metalbender. Closing her eyes, she kneeled and placed her bare hand on the ground, shifting it slightly to reveal the full layout of the prison. It was surprisingly large for a secret organization, but she only found one occupied cell—the one containing Captain Lee and his team. Unfortunately—or perhaps, fortunately—she was unable to locate the Avatar.

Standing, she turned to Mako and shook her head. "I'm sorry… I can't find her. Maybe she's being held somewhere else?"

The metalbenders led the way as Tenzin, Mako, and Taifeng followed close behind. The group came across a pair of Equalists, who the airbending master blasted against a far wall. Lei hanged back for a moment as Lin and Taifeng pressed forward. Meanwhile Mako ran up to one of the chi-blockers and forced him up.

"Avatar Korra. Where are you keeping her?"

Lei frowned and glanced between Mako and Tenzin before reluctantly following her colleagues. At the end of the hall, Lin forced the bars apart and stepped into the cell containing Lei's teammates.

One of the youngest officers looked up from his cot and weakly asked, "Chief Beifong?"

She looked down. "I'm too late… That monster already took your bending, didn't he?" He nodded, and she sighed. "I'm so sorry."

As the officers exited the cell, they paused at Lei and Taifeng.

Captain Lee was the last to come out, and he smiled weakly at his young cadet. "You made it out…"

Her stomach churned as she averted her gaze, unable to will herself to speak. Taifeng clenched his fists as he looked away, and Lee's eyes widened when they landed on his son.

"Taifeng…? I… never would have expected you to come," he admitted.

The nonbender narrowed his eyes. _"What?!_ Wh-Why— Why wouldn't I come?"

Lee frowned. "You don't seem to like me very much. Even Lei—"

He clenched his fists as tears accumulated in the corners of his eyes. "Why do you always bring it back to _her?!_ You _always_ pick her over your own family!"

His father's eyes widened. "That's not—"

"Ever since her dad died, you've only paid attention to her— _not_ me, and _not_ Mom." Taifeng shook as tears streamed down his face. "I _know_ you try to keep her safe for Shang, but that doesn't mean you have to throw your _life_ away for her! Lei can handle herself. Did you ever stop to think about what would happen to me or Mom if you died?"

Lee's shoulders drooped. "Taifeng…"

"Why can't you be selfish for once in your life?!"

Lei placed her hand on the wall as she shrunk to the side, frowning as she felt soft rumbling across the complex. Word of the rescue team's presence must have spread.

Nervously tapping her fingers against the wall, she straightened her posture and faked a cough. "Sorry to interrupt, but we need to get outta here. We're about to have company."

Taifeng squeezed his eyes shut as he looked away and nodded.

As they made it to the end of the hall again, Lei saw Mako threatening the chi-blocker with a fistful of fire. "I'll ask you one more time… _where is she?"_

The man's voice was weak as he explained, "We don't have the Avatar, and the Equalists didn't attack city hall. Tarrlok's lying."

Mako let him down. "What?"

Lin chimed in, "I scanned the entire prison. Korra's not here."

The firebender dropped the man to the floor. "Why would Tarrlok make up a story about getting attacked?"

Tenzin scowled. "Because _he_ has Korra. He fooled us all."

Alarms blared through the hideout, confirming Lei's earlier suspicions as everyone ran to the tram. Halfway down the tunnel, a car full of Equalists was hot on their trail. Lei tensed and moved to jump off the tram and take them on herself.

Taifeng roughly pulled her back. "Don't be stupid!"

She lightly smacked her head. "Right!... That's right..."

Furrowing her eyebrows, she glanced to the earth walls before breaking them down. Bolin chipped in, collapsing the walls between the team and their pursuers. There was a thud from the other side as they slammed into the blockade.

The younger earthbender laughed. "Ha! Try to chi-block _that_ , fools!"

At the end of the tunnel, a fleet of Equalists were lying in wait.

Lin called out, "We've got more company!"

She bent the top rail to form a ramp, sending the tram up. With Lei, they blasted a hole in the ceiling as the vehicle soared onto the second floor. After assuring that everyone survived the landing unharmed, they made their hasty escape.

-:-

The captured officers went home, but Taifeng stayed behind to arrest Tarrlok. The remaining group later went to city hall to confront him with the other members of the council and found out that not only was he a bloodbender, but he had indeed captured Avatar Korra. While they were lucky that Chief Saikhan wasn't there to arrest escaped teens again, Tarrlok knocked them all unconscious with his abilities. They woke up several hours later and continued searching for the bloodbender and Avatar, to no avail. Eventually they heard Naga call out and located her carrying a badly injured Korra into the city again.

They had just brought her back to Air Temple Island, the moon high as Tenzin stepped out, joining Lin, Lei, and Taifeng.

"Thank you for helping us find Korra," he began. "I'll fly you back to your homes."

Lin was silent for a moment, glancing to the young metalbender before turning her attention to the airbender. "Actually, I need to ask you for a favor. Saikhan knows that Lei is gone, and the first place he'll check is her house. Will you let her stay here until I smooth things over?"

He nodded. "Of course." Turning to Lei, he added, "You are welcome to stay as long as you need."

She frowned as she noted her lack of foresight on the matter. "Right... thanks..."

Tenzin nodded. "I'll bring you home so you can gather your belongings and inform your family." Turning to Lin and Taifeng, he added, "I'll drop you two off on the way back."

As the two adults left to speak and retrieve the flying bison, Lei stayed there with Taifeng. Snow flurries fell around they as briefly locked eyes before turning away, Lei holding her arms together and Taifeng shoving his hands in his pockets as he looked down and shuffled his feet.

Taking a deep breath, she nervously spoke. "Hey... I'm sorry for coming between you and your dad. I... I didn't know... Why didn't you ever say anything?"

He whipped his head up, eyebrows pinched together as he took his clenched fists out of his pockets. "Because it wasn't your fault. You needed guidance—you needed someone… It was my father who took it to the lengths he did—he's the one who tried to overcompensate for his failure to protect your father." Sighing, he placed a hand on her shoulder. "Look, I'm sorry for blowing up at you earlier. You didn't deserve it."

Releasing her arms, Lei clasped her hands and lowered them, gaze still pointed at the ground as she asked, "Are we going to be alright… as friends?"

Taifeng smiled softly as he playfully ruffled her hair. "Of course we are. One argument isn't going to stop us now. So, stop worrying."

Lei looked up at him, lips curving into a small grin. At the very least, she wasn't down to just one friend anymore. When Tenzin and Lin returned with his sky bison, their first stop was the Chen household. Taifeng stayed on the saddle as the others came down, frankly not wanting to go through the trouble of climbing back up in a few minutes.

The power was on as Lei walked inside—it seemed that Tarrlok's true nature led the other council members to repeal his order. She flipped on the lights before making her way to her mother's room to inform her of the situation.

Meanwhile, Lin and Tenzin were on the lookout outside as he commented, "Lei seems unusually skilled for someone her age."

"She used training to cope after her father was killed in action," the metalbender explained. "She's the most talented person I've ever seen go through this department, and I don't even think she realizes it."

Tenzin briefly raised his eyebrows. "Do you think she will surpass you one day?"

"Maybe one day when she has more experience in a fight, but she already has in raw skill," Lin blatantly told him. "You saw her in that hideout. I can't use seismic sense as effortlessly as she can. The only person who's better than her is my mother, but she's leagues ahead of Lei."

-:-

As Lei stepped outside with a bag of her hastily gathered belongings slung over her shoulder, a voice called out to her. Squinting, she turned and saw Haku with his hair loose and dressed in his pajamas as he carefully crossed the beaten path between their two houses. With a wide grin, she raced to him.

They briefly embraced as he confessed, "I went to the chief of police to negotiate your release when he told me that you escaped. I'm so glad you're safe."

Lei blinked owlishly as he pulled away. "You did that… for me?"

"I-I… well, of course." He sheepishly looked away. "Without the tension of that night, I would have a higher likelihood of getting you out of there."

She smiled softly as she looked down before sighing and nervously rubbing her arm. "Haku... I'm sorry if I worried you. I didn't really expect them to arrest _me_ _."_

The waterbender was quiet for a moment before assuring her, "I'm just glad you're okay."

Lei smiled up as him as she removed her hand, wincing as her fingers brushed a little too hard against her burns.

His eyes widened. "Are you alright? Do you need another healing session?"

Tilting her head, she admitted, "Well, I'm still sore—and obviously need to be more careful—but I'm gonna have to go without for a while."

"Then, I can give you one last session before—"

"Sorry to interrupt your lovers' reunion," Lin began, prompting a raised eyebrow from Lei, "but we need to get out of here before she's spotted. I'll do my best to smooth it over with Saikhan in the meantime."

Oblivious, Lei shrugged off her confusion and said her goodbyes to Haku. He waved her off as they flew away, thanking the dark night for hiding his blush. Once out of sight, Lei leaned back on the saddle and looked up at the night sky. Beside her, Taifeng watched on with a knowing smirk.


	9. Worth

_Review Response:_

 _Guest: Thank you so much for reviewing, and I'm glad that you liked Taifeng's reasons. I hope that you enjoy this chapter too!_

* * *

 ** **Book 1: Redemption**** **  
** ** **Chapter 8: Worth****

* * *

Clouds obscured the midday sun as Lei sat on a ledge of the island overlooking the city. Her breath came out in a cool puff as her thoughts turned to how much her life had changed. Just six months ago she was a naïve cadet with no inkling of the craziness that would come. And after spending so much time going over everything that happened, the teen was sure that she knew where she went wrong.

She heard rustling from behind and turned to see Bolin stepping out from behind the bushes with a giddy grin on his face.

Though, his shoulders soon drooped as he pressed his fingers together. "Oh… you're not training?"

"I was earlier, but stopped to take a break." Lei sheepishly rubbed her neck as she half-joked, "I might have an unhealthy addiction to it."

He furrowed his eyebrows as he put a hand to his chin and thought. "I don't really see what's bad about it. What's wrong with liking what you like?"

She laughed. "Nothing, really. You just don't want to make it the only thing in your life, y'know?" After a moment, she asked, "Were you hoping to catch me practicing?"

Bolin flashed her a sheepish grin as he admitted, "Well, yeah. It's not every day I get to live with a super cool metalbender who _saved my life._ " After a moment, he added, "Also, everyone was wondering where you were at lunch."

"Ah, well..." She could have been honest and told him _why_ she hid away—avoiding the glaringly obvious tension between the oldest teens—but she settled for a simple, "Thanks for getting me."

He offered a hand and pulled the older earthbender to her feet before the two of them headed back to the dining hall area. While Lei consumed her late meal, Lin stepped inside with Taifeng in tow behind her, his baton hanging off his belt.

The young metalbender grinned and waved. "Hey, what's up?"

The nonbender greeted her before explaining, "My shift just ended and I wanted to see how you were doing."

As Lei turned to Lin, the ex-chief put a hand on her hip and informed the teen, "We'll head to the station when you're done so you can be fully reinstated. With Lee's team gone, you'll have to get reassigned to what was Saikhan's team before he took my position. We'll work out the details from there."

The brunette couldn't help her wide grin as she thanked Beifong profusely. After finishing her meal, she went outside and found out that Tenzin asked Lin to stay and protect his children and pregnant wife while he went to the council meeting, so their visit to the station would be delayed until he returned. The ex-chief was a short distance away as she supervised the airbending master's children. Meanwhile, Lei and Taifeng were on the porch as they kept a general eye on the city per Beifong's request.

Lei adjusted her armor and the canister of needles strapped to her belt—it had been a while since she last wore it. To her side, Taifeng was leaning against a beam, his arms folded as he stared out with a pensive look on his face.

The metalbender glanced down before asking, "How's your dad doing?"

He frowned slightly. "He's struggling—of course he would be—but he'll eventually reach a point where he's okay. He started working again, though he has off today." He paused for a moment before beginning a new thought. "It's been a while since the Phantom's been active..."

She blinked and tilted her head. "The kidnapper guy who takes away memories?" Pursing her lips, she added, "Has it really been that long?"

Taifeng nodded. "The last known case was right when you first got put on leave... Remember how some people were thinking this was another Yakone?"

"Yeah..." Lei put a hand on her hip. "Where are you going with this?"

"Well, now we know that Tarrlok was Yakone's son and clearly a powerful bloodbender, so I was thinking that maybe it was him all along." The nonbender pursed his lips as he looked down. "It's the only thing we've got right now, but at the same rate, I can't figure out a motive. Nothing makes sense."

She put a finger to her lips for a moment before suggesting, "Maybe his aim was to create chaos for the sake of filling the role of the hero, or to scare people so they would want his crazy rules to 'protect' them."

Taifeng furrowed his eyebrows as he rubbed his fingers across his jaw, pondering her words.

The ex-chief turned and gave her input. "We won't know anything for sure until we find Tarrlok and interrogate him."

As the teens started to nod, explosions rang off in the distance. Taifeng pushed himself off the beam and stared at the ongoing attack on the city as he narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists. Several White Lotus sentries ran to the clearing to see what was going on. Lei instinctively stepped forward with eyes wide, but managed to restrain herself as she awaited orders.

Lin's tone was urgent as she addressed Tenzin's children. "Alright, kids, time to go inside."

The young airbenders followed orders for now, passing as Korra and her friends came running outside. Beifong brought them up to speed and the four of them set out by boat.

"You two, stay with me," the ex-chief ordered. "We need to keep the airbenders safe."

And they waited for what seemed like hours with only the echoes of the explosions daring to break the silence, even when Tenzin's family joined them on the porch to watch.

Finally, a lone airship was making its way to the island.

Lin turned to the civilians behind her. "Everyone, hide inside and remain calm." She turned to Lei and Taifeng. "Take the fight to them."

Pema screamed out, prompting Lin to whip around. "Pull it together, Pema. Didn't I just say remain calm?"

As Tenzin's wife hunched over and grabbed her belly, Ikki asked, "Mommy, what's wrong?"

She looked up announced in a strained voice, _"The baby's coming!"_

Lei and Taifeng exchanged glances and nodded before racing down the stairs to the docks. As they made it to the lowest point, White Lotus sentries came up behind them, and the teens noticed a second airship on its way. The Equalists shot their anchor into the ground just in front of them, and they raised their arms to protect themselves from the debris.

Narrowing her eyes, Lei sent a chunk of the island flying at the ship. She grinned as it listed dangerously far, but they all disembarked anyway. The second ship docked soon after.

The lieutenant was the first to land and looked up at the metalbender menacingly before sprinting forward. Taifeng jumped in and blocked his electrified attack as the Equalists began to race up the stairs around them. Lei smirked and whipped out her cables before grabbing two Equalists on the stairs and flinging them into the bay.

While the idea worked on a few, some managed to make it to the next level where the White Lotus acted as a second level of defense.

 _"Lei!"_

She turned just in time to see an Equalist wielding an electrified glove bringing their palm down. Her eyes went wide as she leaned back and instinctively kicked up a rock. The impact knocked him over the edge and into the bay.

Lei let out an amused chortle. "Well, that works too."

 _"Come on!"_ Taifeng barked as he raced up the stairs.

The earthbender glanced around at the empty dock and grit her teeth before chasing after him. In the distance, she could see the Equalists racing toward the home, led by the lieutenant. She immediately shot chi-blocking needles at the stragglers, picking them off while Lin took out those who got too close.

Soon the teens were in the fray again, fighting side by side just outside the entrance. Several minutes passed as they seemed to take the lead, but an agonizing scream rang out from behind. Lei turned to see Beifong collapse, smoke coming from her cables as they slipped off the lieutenant's batons.

"Chief!" the cadet cried out as the Equalist approached the woman.

She took a step forward, before pulling back. Clenching her fists, she haphazardly shot a rock at the lieutenant. He deflected her attack and narrowed his eyes. Lei backed against Taifeng as she held her fists defensively. At least this would give Lin the time to recover.

The Equalists surrounded them—the lieutenant targeting Lei while a chi-blocker went after Taifeng. The metalbender avoided his attack and chi-blocked his arm. He grunted as he dropped the baton before swinging the next one at her. Taifeng jumped in and blocked it, but winced as he got hit from behind. Lei whipped out her arm just in time for the chi-blocker to punch her armor instead of her friend, making the attacker cry out in agony.

The other Equalists closed in on the pair when an airbender swooped in and blasted several enemies over the roof.

"Jinora!" Lin cried out. "You shouldn't be out here!"

Her siblings soon joined her, but the shock quickly wore off the Equalists. With the airbenders' aid, they were more evenly matched. Together, the group managed to defeat the intruders.

-:-

Not long had passed before Tenzin returned with Team Avatar, and with his new baby in tow, the airbending master was prioritizing his family's safety. He told Korra to hide while the United Forces made their way to the city.

Lin was going with the airbenders to protect them, but she pulled Lei and Taifeng aside for one last instruction. "I need you to contact the United Forces and guide them through the bay. They'll need the local help, especially with the Equalists waiting for them."

Lei clenched her fists and nodded before her eyes went wide and she looked away. "Wait, no. This isn't right. How can you trust me with something so important? I keep screwing up!"

Beifong folder her arms. "There's no time to argue. And where's that Chen confidence? As far as I'm concerned, you've always done what you thought was right. Now that you have the experience, I know you can handle this."

Taifeng nudged her arm. "Besides, you won't be alone. Technically, I'm your superior officer right now, so you don't have to make the big decisions. And we've got the Avatar."

The brunette nodded slowly.

"Trust in your abilities, Lei. Your father would be proud of all you've done," Lin assured her before facing Taifeng. "With myself gone and all our officers captured, you two are the last authority figures left in the city. I'm counting on you, _Detective_ …" She turned to the cadet. _"_ _Officer_ _."_

Lei's eyes went wide as she watched Beifong walk away. After a moment, she reached up and took the badge off her chest plate. She stared at it in her palm while Taifeng put a hand on her shoulder, silent in understanding. Closing her fingers around the cool metal, she took a deep breath and placed it upright on her armor.

There was no time to celebrate or brood—the Equalists were coming. Two ships chased after the sky bison while the third anchored right in front of Korra. As they came down the line, the White Lotus formed a defensive line in front of the teens.

"Go. We'll hold them off."

The six of them managed to escape into one of the large sewage pipes under the city. Korra was looking off at Air Temple Island as the Equalists took over. Mako put a supportive arm around her waist, prompting a glare from his girlfriend before she looked away.

After a few moments, the youngest earthbender asked, "Where do we go now?"

Lei pursed her lips for a moment before exchanging glances with Taifeng.

She grinned. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

-:-

Later that evening, out on the lead ship of the United Forces, a man ran to the helm. "General, I just received a wire from the Avatar. She says Amon and his forces have gained control of the city. How do you want to respond?"

The firebender thought for a moment. "Tell her we will be arriving in three days' time, and that I look forward to winning back Republic City _together."_

The messenger saluted. "As you wish, General Iroh."

As he went back inside, he passed a middle-aged man of strong water tribe descent with a hefty tome in his arms. His neatly-trimmed hair and beard flowed in the sea breeze as he looked out at the young General.

After a few moments, Iroh addressed him. "Saghani, how likely is diplomacy with this Amon character?"

The older man adjusted the pages in his hands as he reported, "Highly unlikely, sir. We should approach the situation with extreme caution, and be ready for battle if necessary. And in such events, we must be careful not to harm the citizens—they are hostages to this situation, many with nowhere to go."

"Noted." Iroh turned to his chief strategist. "I want you to draft all our options—after all, you should know the area well."

Saghani held his book to his chest as he saluted. "Of course, General."

-:-

While Lei and Taifeng stayed behind to help Gommu give directions, everything fell apart when the Equalists struck with their new flying weapons. Iroh was at the highest point of the ship during the air raid, shooting down planes left and right, but a fated shot at a torpedo blasted him away. Saghani—the last man on the ship—dropped his books and raised the waters to meet the General before diving in after him, only to find that Avatar Korra had kept him afloat. The two men followed her back to the underground hideout with the homeless folks of the city, both injured and worn for wear.

Gommu had just wired General Iroh's instructions to Commander Bumi, and the group was sitting around for dinner before planning the next step. Lei was sitting between Taifeng and Bolin a short distance away, her brows furrowed and lips pursed as she stared at the bowl of gruel in her hands. She already failed to help the United Forces. What was left that she could actually do? There was a nagging thought at the back of her mind, but she couldn't pinpoint what it was.

"Hey, so how'd you guys meet Gommu anyway?" Bolin asked.

Blinking back to the present, Lei looked up and explained, "He's a friend of the family."

Taifeng lazily pointed to the brunette. "Hers, not mine."

"Right." She nodded. "He used to be a telegraph operator in the United Forces, I think..."

As she trailed off again, the younger earthbender frowned. "Hey, you okay? It's not all your fault, you know. Hiroshi just keeps finding time to invent all these evil machines."

The metalbender sighed and narrowed her eyes. "I know. I just feel like I'm forgetting something... Something _really_ important..."

Before the conversation could continue, Iroh directed the groups' attention to a map. With Mako's help, they determined where the high-speed aircraft were coming from—the plan to destroy them to give Bumi's fleet a chance.

"Everyone get ready," Iroh began. "We leave at dawn."

A few moments passed as the group moved forward, but Korra hanged back. "Wait. I'm sorry, but I'm not going with you tomorrow. I'm sick and tired of hiding from Amon." She looked to the side. "It's time I face him."

Iroh stepped closer. "That's not a good plan. We need to stick together."

As Korra began to argue, Taifeng pointed out, "We have extra Equalist uniforms—we can sneak our way to Amon. I say we split the remaining group evenly. I can't do much against an airfield like the earthbenders, but I don't have any bending to lose. I'll go with Korra."

Mako soon added his support, and Iroh approved the plan, but his chief strategist chimed in with a grave expression. "I must go into the city tonight to make sure my family is safe."

The firebender nodded sagely as he recalled, "That's right.. They are also waterbenders… Understood."

Lei's eyes went wide as her hands flew to the sides of her head. "Haku!" Saghani blinked in surprise as she started to panic. "Oh, no. No. No. No." She rapidly glanced around. "I can't believe... I've gotta go save him!"

Taifeng caught her arm just as she started to race off. "Lei, calm down! The last thing you need to do is go in without thinking. You'll just get yourself captured."

"No, you don't understand," she argued. "Me, Haku, and his mom are the _only_ benders in the neighborhood. Everyone knows it! If the Equalists find out—"

"Pardon me," Saghani interrupted, "But are you talking about Dragon Flats Borough?"

Lei relaxed a moment and tilted her head. "How did you know?"

"My family lives there—next to the only other bender in the neighborhood," he explained. "You must be her, the young earthbender."

Her eyes went wide. "You're Haku's dad!"

Saghani nodded. "Indeed. Do you wish to come with me tonight? I cannot guarantee that we'll be back in time for tomorrow's missions, but you will be more in your element than I."

Taifeng released his grip as she grinned. "Yes. Let's go!"

As she raced off, the waterbender called out, stopping her in her tracks. "Hold just a moment! Your friend is right, we must be cautious in our every move."

Lei turned and pouted. "But..."

"It should only take a few minutes," he assured the teen before eyeing her armor. "The Equalists will no doubt be searching for benders along the way. We'll have stealth to our advantage in the night, but not if they are utilizing flashlights."

Her brows sank. "So, you're saying...?"

Taifeng chimed in, "Ditch the armor. It'll reflect the light and give away your positions."

"Oh..."

Saghani nodded. "Now, then... Let us formulate our plan."


	10. ANNOUNCEMENT

Hello,

I suppose I've been putting this off for long enough.

I wanted to take the time to apologize for my unexpected three month absence and go over a major announcement for _Republic City's Finest._ First, I just wanted to say thank you to those who reviewed, favorited, and followed this story (and to those who enjoy it otherwise.) It really means a lot that you're enjoying something I've written, and your reviews always push me to do my best to give you the best story I can write. However, I've realized that the story so far isn't going in the direction it should be.

The main problem is the protagonist, Lei. While I love her character and enjoy writing her, she isn't the right protagonist for _Republic City's Finest_ for a few reasons. First is that her personality doesn't allow me to explore the redemption story I originally envisioned for book 1, nor does it allow for a natural progression into my plans for the remainder of the series except for a few funny moments here and there. She's entertaining, sure, and her rash nature made for the perfect inciting incident, but that leads me into the next problem: all her potential development lessons are exactly the same as Korra's. Given that this is a _Legend of Korra_ fanfiction, I don't want to just rehash her lessons in my protagonist.

In my three month hiatus, I have developed a new protagonist and written out the entirety of Book 1 around her to make sure she was the right fit. Some aspects of the story remain the same, but feel less forced than they did with Lei. Additionally, I feel like the new protagonist will also be easier for most people to sympathize with, making for a more enjoyable reading experience.

Moving forward, I will begin publishing the improved version of _Republic City's Finest_ as a separate book. At the time of this announcement, four chapters should be already be up. Once it catches up to this version with Chapter 8 being published, I will probably delete this version (unless someone requests that I leave it up.) In the new version, I will be publishing all five books in one FFnet book just to make it easier for you to find, though they will be clearly marked in each chapter. Chapters will be published weekly until the end of a book, at which point there will be a publishing hiatus until I finish writing the next book, and so on.

Thank you for your patience and support. I hope that you still enjoy the revamped series.

-Cloud


End file.
